Horwath will scrap Bill 124, stop the cuts and respect essential workers

SCARBOROUGH – NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will restore the respect that essential workers were denied under four years of Doug Ford’s government, starting with scrapping Ford’s low-wage policy, Bill 124.

On Friday, Horwath and NDP candidates hosted an appreciation brunch for frontline workers in Scarborough to reaffirm the party’s commitment to stop the cuts — and replace them with hope. After that, Horwath is headed to Flamborough-Glanbrook to talk about respect for teachers and education workers.

“Ontario’s essential workers are burnt-out, underpaid and being disrespected. They need and deserve better working conditions and better pay. They deserve respect,” said Horwath.

“We know who we’re in it for. Who we’re fighting for, and standing with. Before, during and after an election — we’re here for working folks, unions and everyday people.”
Horwath and the NDP are committed to:

• Repeal Bill 124 and allow workers to bargain fair wages again
• Implement 10 permanent sick days
• Increase the minimum wage by $1 every year to reach $20 by 2026
• Give personal support workers a raise of $5 per hour above pre-pandemic levels
• Immediately increase the wage floor for child care workers to $25 per hour, and $20 per hour for all other program staff
• Provide fair treatment for temp and gig workers by preventing them from being misclassified as independent contractors
• Create Ontario Benefits to cover all workers including those in part-time, casual, app-based, or contract jobs
• Update and enforce the Pay Equity Act, and move forward with the Pay Transparency Act
• Make it easier to join a union
• Hire more teachers and education workers and give them the respect and support they deserve
• Enforce the Employment Standards Act to ensure workers cannot be fired, and expand the scope of who can be covered by WSIB
• Launch a public inquiry into COVID-19 that will look into the government’s COVID-19 response

“Doug Ford has proven he’s no friend to workers,” said Horwath. “Over the last four years, Doug Ford and his Conservatives have made devastating cuts. They’ve made it their mission to keep wages low, in both the public sector and the private sector. Time and again, they keep choosing to make life harder for folks, not better.

“And together, on June 2, we can turn that around.”

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