Uber is calling on Doug Ford to raise the minimum wage for gig workers to $18 an hour
Ride-sharing giant Uber Technologies is calling on the Doug Ford government to boost minimum wages for gig workers in Ontario to $18 an hour and legislate a new portable benefits package for platform-based employees.
CTV News Toronto has learned Uber Canada sent a letter to every provincial government this week calling for new "legislative standards" for app-based workers as a growing number of Canadians rely on technology companies for their income.
The letter addressed to Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton, obtained by CTV News Toronto, outlines a number of measures that the company claims would "significantly improve the quality of app-based work."
Among them, the company is urging the government to increase minimum wage for gig workers to $18 an hour -- up from the current $15 per hour — to account for time spent waiting for jobs, as well as other expenses, such as gas and insurance.
The company made the same request of other provincial governments calling for them to increase the earnings floor to 120 per cent of minimum wage, to account for expenses such as gasoline and insurance.
Uber is also calling for a "benefits fund" that would give gig workers who have an average of 20 hours of "engaged time" on an app access to money for health and dental benefits.
The company is also urging the government to legislate termination pay, occupational accident coverage and the right to join a union.
While the Ford government has been working on reforms for those in the gig economy — including a portable benefits package — it's unclear exactly when the province will overhaul the working conditions for app-based employees.
While McNaughton didn't say whether Uber's suggestions were under consideration, the minister issued a terse statement on the letter.
"If app-based companies do not protect their workers, our government will do it for them," McNaughton said in a brief statement Thursday night.
McNaughton previously said the government will appoint an advisory panel in March to research potential options for a portable health, dental and vision care plan -- but said the final recommendations will only be made in July, one month after the election.
The five-member panel would be tasked with meeting with workers, labour groups and employers and researching the limited examples of portable benefits before giving the provincial government a range of options.
Uber recently entered into an agreement with private sector union United Food and Commercial Workers Canada UFCW to represent 100,000 Canadian drivers and couriers and said, in the letter, that the proposed reforms are based on feedback from drivers.
The letter to the government was also sent on behalf of UFCW.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.