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OPINION: FUTURE OF WORK REIMAGINING THE FUTURE OF WORK PATTY COATES Column From all corners of the province, itarians feeling the squeeze as they look at their paycheques, lown the aisles of the beets store, fuel up at the Bas | stations, and pay their verges are failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Infact, at its atits peak last stantial decline in real living standards for workers. Meanwhile, corporate prof- 50 years. We're making history — and not in a good way. And while this be our pre- sent, it doesn’t have to be our future. Enough is enough. We need to end the cost- of-living crisis. That means: «Real wage increases be- cause we’re working harder for less, while the rich get richer. Banks and corpora- tions must pay their fair gle to afford it. + Rent control and afford- able housing because every- one deserves a lace fo Ui to live. Our collective fut including the future ie ‘work —isat stake. Most of us will spend a third of our lives at work. Our conditions of work — how much we get paid, how And the Ford govern- ment has only made it hard- er for workers. Only months after his . Schools and health care 28 18 election, Ford targeted mustremain work laws, thatis the best way toensure canoeing the scheduled $15 these necessities are acces- wage and cost-of- sible. living adjustments, elimi. + Affordable groceries, natingtwopaidsick days, re- gas,and basicgoodsbecause _pealing equal pay for eau we shouldn’t have to strug- work, and making it harder for workers to access union protections. When we're facing re- cord-breaking price increas- es for necessities like food, Many -wage workers put their own health at risk to keep work- ing on the front lines throughout the height of the pandemic, and they paid the price for the Ford govern- ment’s three-year delay i in raising the minimum wage to $15. Workers lost hetween permanently reduced work- ers’ pensionable S, vacation pay, Employment Insurance benefits, and oth- er legal entitlements based on wages. Workers need a $20 per hour minimum wage imme- diately — with no excep- fons. if CO- injustice among health-care who continue torisk their lives during the g . The Ford vibe, “fu, and RSV are peaking workers are still being forced to choose between staying home when they’re mission and strain on our health care systems. The best way to ensure safe and healthy workplaces is to pro- Ford government is continuing to interfere in the collective bargaini process by holding steadfast — wage re- straint legislation that caps public sector pan ment must treat. public sec- — getting richer, while work- ers are struggling to get by. 3 The biggest companies in Canada not only saw profit cent § in 2021, but they also avoided $80 billion in tax. Corpora- tions and the wealthy should be 2 baying their fair share of er, ie 's reimagine what the future Tooks like. the pat is Enough together we will aight tor al- ternatives that help working oople, instead of making difficult. Sion iets at one per cent — even the nie at wesayenough- though the Ontario Superi- or Court of Justice recently struck it down. Patty Coates is the presi- Maintaining Bill 124 dent ofthe Ontario Feder- amid sky-high inflation lev- ation of Labour, which i a of illion work: p resentment, burnout, and ers in Ontario. We're reducing wait times for surgeries. See all the ways we're helping you connect to care at ontario.ca/YourHealth Paid for by the Government of Ontario Ontario 7] woo-uoy}EYyapIsUl