Ontario set to introduce $15 minimum wage for app-based gig workers

The Ontario government is set to introduce new legislation Monday that will give app-based gig workers “fundamental rights,” including a $15 minimum wage and transparency when it comes to their tips.

The “Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act” will guarantee a regular minimum wage for individuals employed by app-based services, such as ride-share drivers and couriers, which they will receive on top of their tips. It also makes it mandatory for workers to receive a recurring pay period and pay day while prohibiting tips from being withheld by platform operators.

“We continue to hear stories that, you know, one week a gig worker will make $1,400 and the next week they'll make $500, and they don't know why,” Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton told CTV News Toronto.

“So we're going to bring forward a transparency, so workers know exactly how the algorithm works and how they're going to be paid.”

McNaughton said he has heard from some workers who are making less than $5 an hour and he called that situation “unacceptable.”