Share Of Workers In Minimum Wage Jobs Has Grown Fivefold In Ontario: Study (Huffington Post)

[inanna]

1. More from The Hamilton Spectator:

A dime a dozen: Ontario’s ‘eye-popping’ shift to low-wage work

Labour laws leave 40 per cent of low-wage workers saddled with unpredictable shifts, no paid sick days

It's one of the most excruciating decisions single mom Jodi Dean has ever made: choosing between the unpredictable, $13-an-hour job her family relied on, and taking care of her chronically ill daughter.

"It (made) me physically ill with the stress," Dean said. "I needed that job to provide for my children."

Welcome to the new normal for families across the province: low salaries, erratic schedules, dwindling hours, unpaid leave and constant stress.

Ontario's low-wage work force has skyrocketed by 94 percent over the past two decades, compared with just 30 percent growth in total employment, according to a new report.

In one of the few province-wide studies of precarious employment, the research details an "eye-popping" shift toward poorly paid, non-unionized work across Ontario.

cont'd...

Link: http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5677195-a-dime-a-dozen-ontario-s-eye-popping-shift-to-low-wage-work/