Thanks to 3 intense months of pressure from our members and allies—$5.5 million dollars for proactive enforcement of Employment Standards have been saved from the government chopping block. The McGuinty government promises to work with WAC and other community partners to develop a plan for how the money can best to used to prevent wage theft and better enforce employment standards.
Here are the details: the government has committed to restore funding to meet their 2008 Poverty Reduction Strategy promise of $10 million in increased annual funding for employment standards by 2013. This means we will see an increase of $3 million this year, and another increase of $2.5 million next year. The $5.5 million will go into proactive enforcement of Employment Standards. The government has committed to work with WAC and other community partners to develop a plan on how the money should best be used.
This commitment to proactive enforcement of employment standards is a huge win for Ontario workers! Not only does it reverse cuts to funding, it brings the community to the table in determining how wage theft should be addressed. We want to thank all of you for your critical support to stop the cuts. Together we have won an important victory for workers’ rights.