Wage-theft victims our most vulnerable
Re Wage- theft victims $28M out of pocket, Aug. 2 What is so sad about wage theft is that these employees are often the lowest-income earners, who can least afford to lose their jobs by complaining or who risk severe hardship by the loss of their income. When those employees are supporting families, it compounds the loss even more.
A government that allows this to happen is not looking after the interests of its weakest citizens and is, in fact, abetting business in fleecing them. And that says a lot about how the average citizen sees the government these days. A system that is set in place allowing businesses to stiff workers by not allowing benefits if they work less than so many hours obviously is going to be used by businesses for their own advantage.
I suggest that benefits should be paid automatically to all workers who work, regardless of how many hours they work. The government must come down strongly in favour of its abused workers by issuing fines to all those who don’t comply.
You don’t boost an economy by creating a stratum of underpaid workers with no benefits, which is what has happened, while business ships its profits offshore. It should be obvious that if the poor population increases, there will be no economic upswing. You can’t create wealth in a feudal society on the backs of serfs. Mariel Schooff, Orangeville, Ont.
I am not at all surprised that the Ministry of Labour has a very poor record when it comes to collecting lost wages.
I am experiencing problems getting the Family Responsibility Office to collect support payments owed to me. Its record is abysmal and the Ministry of Community and Social Services refuses to make legislative change that would make it more efficient and responsive to those dependent on support payments.
The Ontario Liberals do not care about the working poor in this province. They only care about making sure rich executives get their opulent severance pay for a few months of work. Dawn Ellis, Mississauga
When my then teenage son and his co-workers were repeatedly denied their wages or fobbed off with not-sufficient-funds cheques, I asked police if charges could be laid. I was told they could not, and was further informed that only if a supplier to the business was treated in a similar manner would the police become involved.
In other words, stealing things is criminal. Stealing labour is not.
Maybe that’s where the problem lies. Anita Dermer, Toronto