Ontario’s minimum wage rate set to increase to $15 per hour in 2019
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Staff Reporter
Farms.com
Premier Kathleen Wynne met with the Grape Growers of Ontario last week to discuss some pressing issues in the industry – including the minimum wage increase.
The Ontario government plans to increase the minimum wage to $14 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018, and then to $15 per hour on Jan. 1, 2019.
For businesses that depend on minimum wage labour, such as those in the horticultural industry, this jump could present some difficulties. (For example, 85 per cent of Canada’s grape production occurs in Ontario, according to the Grape Growers of Ontario.)
“We’re very hand-labour intensive in our operations,” Matthias Oppenlaender, chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario, said in an interview with Farms.com today.
“Some of our labour costs are between 45 and 55 per cent of our input costs.”
Labour costs could increase by $500 to $600 per acre once the wage has risen to $15 per hour, he said.
Growers are mechanizing as much as possible but, due to quality standards, a lot of work has to be done by hand, Oppenlaender explained.
“Normal labour costs for horticulture farms are about 65 per cent of operating earnings, making it the highest on-farm expense,” Bill George, grape grower and vice-chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, said in a Friday release.
“The (minimum wage) increase announced for next year (could) push labour costs (up) to as much as 90 per cent of operating earnings.”
However, after visiting with Wynne in George’s vineyards in Beamsville, the Grape Growers of Ontario are hopeful.
“While we appreciate the intent behind the increase in minimum wage to improve the livelihood of minimum wage earners, we clearly explained the impact that it will have on farm families, and are pleased that the Premier understands our (concerns),” Matthias Oppenlaender, chair of the Grape Growers of Ontario, said in the release.
Oppenlaender hopes the transition to a higher minimum wage will be stretched out over a longer period, as currently “there is just not enough time to improve in efficiency.”
In the meantime, financial assistance to offset some of the costs, such as those associated with further mechanization, would be helpful, Oppenlaender said to Farms.com.
Photo: Grape Growers of Ontario