Ontario minimum wage hike comes into effect, liquor servers and students get pay bump
Published January 1, 2022 at 12:24 pm
Some workers will see their paycheques rise this week as an official increase to the Ontario minimum wage takes effect today.
Minimum wage workers will now earn $15 per hour, up from the previous hourly rate of $14.35.
Liquor servers will see their hourly wages increase from $12.55 to $15.
Students under the age of 18 who work 28 hours a week or less when school is in session or work during a break from classes will now make at least $14.10 per hour, up from $13.50.
The province says between January and November 2021, there were about 767,000 workers in Ontario making at or below minimum wage.
The pay increase comes as labour shortages have struck many industries and businesses are struggling with inflation and attracting talent.
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While the increase was heralded by unions as a step in the right direction, one report showed many households in Ontario need to pull in much more than the provincial minimum wage to make ends meet.
The new $15.00 minimum was still more than $1.00 less than the recommended living wage for the 23 communities on the Ontario Living Wage Network’s living wage list for 2021.
With files from the Canadian Press
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