We’re starting 2026 with the commitment to make fighting wage theft our top priority. We ended 2025 strong by launching our Stop Wage Theft campaign. Already, the campaign is making an impact. We will keep pushing until workers leading the fight are paid, employers are held responsible – and Ontario’s wage theft crisis comes to an end.
Our wage theft committee met this week, excited to plan outreach and actions you can join. In case you missed it, watch this video of our Rally to Stop Wage Theft outside the Ministry of Labour on November 29. It features Workers’ Action Centre members sharing their experiences of wage theft:
Employment Standards Officers (ESOs) investigate complaints of workplace violations, but there haven’t been enough of them. The hiring of more ESOs just might be evidence that we’re pushing Ontario in the right direction.
Our report, The crisis of wage theft in Ontario, shows that the government’s weak labour law enforcement is one major reason why we have a wage theft crisis:
- Though Ontario’s workforce had grown by 16% since 2014, the number of ESOs at the Ministry of Labour was frozen at 115.
- The Ministry of Labour conducted 77% fewer workplace inspections in 2024 than it did six years before.
Late last year, there was a posting to hire 39 more ESOs. We hope this means the Ministry of Labour is getting ready to do its job! In greater numbers, ESOs could stop employers with workplace violations before they commit wage theft. But only if they are given the power, training and directive from the government to conduct proactive workplace inspections.
More ESOs alone won’t guarantee an end to wage theft. Workers still need to see the Ontario government enforce and close gaps in our labour laws. And we need real power and job protection to stand up for ourselves and our coworkers.*
We won’t stop until our members leading this struggle get the hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages they’re owed! We won’t give up until Ontario employers think twice before stealing workers’ wages – and face real consequences if they do.
Will you join the movement?
Tell our government to stop wage theft, and follow us on social media.
Have questions about your pay cheque or know someone who is dealing with wage theft? Call us on our confidential hotline at 416-531-0778.
Interested in organizing a workshop in your community on wage theft and how to fight it? Email us at info@workersactioncentre.org to get connected.
* When we ask for what we’re owed, we are fired and no reason has to be given. That’s why our demands include “just-cause protection” so employers cannot fire us without giving us a good reason. We also demand “protection for concerted activity” so that we cannot be fired for joining with our coworkers to demand our rights.