Status of Women Committee on April 6th, 2017

[Karen Ludwig, Liberal, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

I just want to say that I really do appreciate your comment about the adequate notification of shift changes. I think that's really important and I think it would make a big difference, not only for women but also for men, with that advance notice. Certainly, if we're looking at the issue of child care, it's very difficult to get child care at the last minute, so thank you for that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Marilyn Gladu]

Very good.

We'll go now to my colleague, Ms. Vecchio, for seven minutes.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Thank you very much.

Meg, I want to speak to you. I also salute the 12 weeks prior, due to the fact that we are extending the date at which people can take maternity leave to 12 weeks prior to the child's birth.

As well, you talked about the reduction of the number of hours—up to 300 hours—and things of that sort. Have you actually looked at the way the program works? The fewer hours you have, the fewer weeks you have. What is the expectation you have, when someone has 300 hours, of how long they'll actually be receiving EI benefits?

[Meg Gingrich]

You would still be able to receive the EI benefits for a full year or whatever. It has now been extended to 18 months. Whatever the period is now, it would cause a reform in the EI-based system, so you would need fewer hours but still have access to the full leave.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

You're referring more specifically to special benefits. You're not looking at EI regular benefits. I know that has become an issue as well.

[Meg Gingrich]

Right.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

For EI regular benefits, are you still supportive of 910?

[Meg Gingrich]

We didn't address that in our submission. We do recommend general reforms to EI, so there would be a lower eligibility period for that as well, but this actually just addresses the special benefits.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay.

I have just another question, and anyone can answer this question.

When you're looking at the transparency of organizations, how they hire their workers, and a variety of different things, can you advise me what the current average wage is that one of the employees under your union would receive?

Do you not have that data available?

[Meg Gingrich]

We don't. We represent workers in so many different industries that I can't say off the top of my head.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay, let's look at the steelworkers specifically.

Debora, I know you have a much broader sense, but let's look at the labour side, the actual steelworkers. Do you not have data there?

[Meg Gingrich]

Just for the steel industry...?

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Yes. Are they above the $15?

[Meg Gingrich]

Yes, they would be, but actual steelworkers—people working in the steel industry—are not the majority of our membership by any means.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay.

[Meg Gingrich]

We have 15,000 workers in post-secondary education. We have 5,000 in health care.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay, but is the average wage usually greater than $15 an hour?

[Meg Gingrich]

Yes, it is, usually.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay.

[Meg Gingrich]

But I will say that we have a number who are paid less than the $15, particularly in the security sector.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Okay.

Actually, I just want to pass this over to Jamie. I know he has some awesome questions, and then we can come back to me if we have time.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I would like to pick up on what Ms. Ludwig was talking about regarding the $15 minimum wage. Again, why $15? Based on what's happening in a number of industries such as the fast food industry.... Look at McDonald's, IKEA, Home Depot, which are facing a number of challenges. Some of them here in Ontario are caused by government with high hydro prices. What's the logic in saying if we up the minimum wage to $15, we will somehow allow those jobs to continue coming, because already automation is taking over those jobs, filled mostly by women? Once you get rid of those jobs, they're not coming back. How does that help?

[Debora De Angelis]

The assumption here is that if we increase the minimum wage then automatically we're going to lose all these jobs. We've seen workplaces cut jobs back to bare bones. I really don't see how, if we're already at bare bones, we're going to lose all of these jobs because of an increase to minimum wage.

With an increase from minimum wage to a living wage, as we said before, the social and economic factors would be benefiting society as a whole. The money that those women, specifically, as you pointed out, would be making would go back into society. It would be going to buy their kids running shoes. That goes back into the local economy.

Yes, automation is coming. We see it as well, but I don't see a direct correlation between the minimum wage and the automation.

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Do you not believe there's a huge difference between income and the value of labour?

[Debora De Angelis]

I'm glad you bring that up. The special committee on pay equity had a whole conversation around value. If you look at jobs that women are particularly in, you see it's because, for whatever reason, there's systemic discrimination and they've been considered undervalued. Those are primarily the people in our society for whom we're trying to lift up the minimum wage so that their work is given value.

I was a retail worker for six years. I was paid minimum wage. When I asked for a wage increase, they told me, “No. You got your wage increase when the government increased the minimum wage.” I did managers' jobs, shift work, key holder work, and everything else, but I was paid minimum wage. To say that my value was minimum wage is unfair, because I brought way more to the company than my minimum wage job.