NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo is pressing for amendments to the Employment Standards Act to end discrimination against part-time and temporary workers who receive less pay for the same work performed by permanent, full-time workers.

“In the past decade, Ontario has seen an evaporation of good, well-paying jobs. Increasingly, companies are cutting costs by employing workers on temporary or part-time contracts,” said DiNovo, who will be introducing a Private Members’ Bill to amend existing legislation.

“What this means is that one in four Ontarians are doing part-time or temporary work and are being paid considerably less for doing the same work as full-time employees,” she added.

According to research, those most discriminated against are women, people of colour and new immigrants. As a result of weakening standards, these workers are being pushed to the margins of the provincial labour market.

Under DiNovo’s reforms, the Act would be amended to reflect the principles of ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’, referred to in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 23 (2), which states that “everyone, without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.”

“These reforms have been adopted in the European Union and are essential to promoting justice in the workplace. They are needed immediately and are a necessary step toward protecting all Ontario workers,” noted DiNovo.