Ontario to introduce $15 minimum wage for digital platform gig workers

Doug Ford (Premier of Ontario Photography)

Ontario announced plans for new labour legislation that will give gig workers more rights and a general minimum wage.

The new legislation, announced by Premier Doug Ford on Monday, will ensure that app-based gig workers make at least $15 per hour while working, on top of their usual tips. It would provide gig workers with regular pay periods and paydays, and mandate that companies provide gig workers written notice if they are being removed from an app, and why.

The legislation will also ensure gig workers are able to find out how their pay is calculated. The legislation applies to drivers and couriers on apps like Uber, Lyft, Instacart and SkipTheDishes.

You might also like:

If passed, Ontario would be the first province in Canada to mandate a general minimum wage for digital platform gig workers.

“We know that the gig economy is one of the fastest-growing employment sectors in Ontario and that as many as one in five Canadians currently take on work via a digital platform,” Ford said at a press conference.

The legislation would also provide clarity around hours, would provide gig workers the right to resolve work-related disputes and protection from reprisal if they seek to assert their rights.

A spokesperson at Lyft told Daily Hive that this is a step in the right direction for workers and look forward to continuing working with Ontarians.

“Drivers deserve benefits and protections while also maintaining their flexibility to earn when, where and for however long they want. This proposal seems to offer a good starting point in that conversation, and we look forward to continuing to engage with all stakeholders on the issue,” the spokesperson said.

SkipTheDishes echoed this sentiment and said that they will work with the Ontario government.

“SkiptheDishes looks forward to working with the Ontario government to advocate for couriers, ensuring they’re able to maintain the freedom and flexibility they value under the proposed Working for Workers Act,” SkipTheDishes said in a statement.

DoorDash also appeared to welcome the news of the legislation.

“We know Dashers want to earn on their own terms – and 76,000 Dashers were active in Ontario last year, working fewer than 3 hours a week, and always receiving 100% of their tips. We look forward to continuing to work with the Ontario Government to find policy solutions that positively impact Dashers,” a spokesperson said.