QUEEN'S PARK – Recognizing that the majority of low-paid workers in Ontario are women, Monique Taylor, Hamilton Mountain MPP, marked International Women’s Day by calling on the Liberal government to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
During question period, Taylor shared the story of a struggling woman who she spoke to recently at Queen’s Park. The woman works in the cafeteria at York University, where workers were on strike.
“This cafeteria worker, on strike, a single mother who is paid just $12 an hour, found it impossible to make ends meet. Just providing lunch for her daughter is always a challenge,” Taylor said. “Through tears, she told me that sometimes she has to ask the bus driver to let her on for free because she simply doesn’t have the money.”
“Why does a single working mother have to strike for fairness?” she asked.
In Ontario, nearly 60 per cent of those in precarious jobs – like part-time and casual work – are women.
“This woman works in a public institution on contract, an example of the ever growing precarious work in this province over the last 13 years,” Taylor said.
“York University workers just settled, with no help from this government, for $15 an hour. Will this government raise the minimum wage for all workers in this province to $15 an hour?” demanded Taylor.