Posted on 01/06/2018 4:45:48 PM PST by Kaslin
The Fight for 15 crowd is having more success in the Great White North than they’ve seen across much of the United States lately, with Ontario being the latest province to massively increase their minimum wage. What could possibly go wrong?
As we’ve already seen repeatedly on our side of the border, quite a bit, actually. And as soon as the new mandatory minimum went into effect on January 1st, big employers of largely unskilled, lower wage workers responded in the only way available to them. They began cutting costs, starting with perks and benefits, but also reducing hours and even laying off workers. This left many “living wage” advocates in Canada shocked and dismayed. (MSN)
Employees at nearly a dozen Tim Hortons outlets across Ontario tell CBC News they are facing the loss of paid breaks, benefits, and perks by franchise owners citing Ontario’s minimum wage increase.
The cuts go beyond the iconic coffee chain, with minimum wage workers at other businesses being told they’re also going to take a hit as a result of the hike.
Sources tell CBC News Tims franchise owners are taking similar action in Leamington and Port Hope and at multiple locations in the Cobourg area.
One family that owns six franchises in Durham Region, east of Toronto, is cutting paid breaks at its locations because of what it calls a “massive” increase in labour costs. Ontario’s minimum wage rose to $14 an hour from $11.60 on Jan. 1, and it will go to $15 next year.
So the minimum wage was previously $11.60, which was already fairly generous when you consider that’s currently about $9.40 per hour in American dollars. (Plus the fact that everyone gets free healthcare under their socialized medicine scheme.) But it went up by $2.40 per hour overnight and will go up another buck next January. Places like Tim Hortons, along with other fast food outlets, restaurants and coffee shops, were taking a massive hit to their bottom line. And in such a competitive market space, they couldn’t just jack up all their prices by 20% and expect to keep their customer base.
One employer sent out a memo to their workers explaining it in simple terms. “Unfortunately when wages rise at such a fast pace we cannot raise our prices at the same rate to offset the costs and something has to give.”
The “something” in question was paid break time and other little bonuses they offered to attract workers. Other companies are figuring out how to do more with less, laying off workers or shifting some full-time employees to part-time status. In other words, if you’re lucky enough to still have a full-time job, you’ll be bringing home more money (albeit with fewer perks at work), which is great for you. But a lot of your minimum wage colleagues, rather than being lifted up by this change in the law are now finding themselves making even less or being out of a job entirely.
There’s one other area which won’t come as good news to minimum wage workers, and it’s once again something we’re already dealing with in the United States. Canadian employers knew these wage hikes were coming and many have been moving at lightning speed towards automation wherever possible. One report from October found that companies in Canada were on track to eliminate as many as 40% of minimum wage, low-skill jobs with robots over the coming two years. (Global News, Canada)
A new report suggests the speed of technological advances has become so rapid that it’s outpacing the rate at which large Canadian businesses and government institutions can adapt, with the number of jobs threatened by automation ranging from 35 to 42 per cent.
The co-authored report, by Deloitte and the Human Resources Professionals Association, calls upon policy-makers and business leaders to prepare Canadian workers for the disruption that artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technologies are having on the economy.
This is just the free market in action. As long as human labor remains significantly cheaper than automated alternatives, many companies will be loathe to make the significant investments required to automate. But as soon as labor costs exceed a certain breaking point it simply makes more sense to replace workers with machines and internet applications which work 24/7 at a fixed cost without ever getting sick, needing a vacation or demanding benefits.
And what’s to become of all the low value folks who can’t get jobs due to automation and other measures taken to offset the cost of the new minimum wage?
And they call us stupid? It’s all so simple - yet the left can’t see it:
When wages are set by government fiat employers no longer have to worry about employee retention, since there’s greater demand for the jobs due to workers displaced by those same higher wages. And since employers don’t have to worry about employee retention they no longer have to offer non-monetary incentives to keep employees happy (like treating them well...).
Worst of all, min wages put pressure on all wages, thus causing price increases. It’s beyond dumb.
I would call this the law of unintended consequences, but 100 + years of economics shows what minimum wage laws do to an economy.
For libtards, raise the minimum wage, then give welfare to the newly unemployed. It can all be paid for with money created out of thin air, more government borrowing, and by raising taxes. Its all good
The quote is popularly attributed to Einstein but it shouldn't take an Einstein to figure that out.
I don’t think you have to have graduated from law school to understand the “law of unintended consequences”!
When I left the states, the min. wage was still $3.35
:p
RATS aren't smart enough to understand the business model of a lemonade stand
More jobs for young men, cleaning gunked-up fast food automation equipment. There’s no free lunch for those who don’t want to do their work themselves. Personally, I’ve bought restaurant food about twice in the last ten years.
robots don’t spit on sandwiches intended for white people.
$15 an hour? Well, hark off ya hosers, eh?
A rising tide lifts all boats.
(Except those with holes in the hulls)
1. Answer the question: why not raise the mandatory minimum wage to $1,000/hour?
2. Extrapolate downward. A similar principle applies.
By the way, how long has fast fast food work been considered a career position for a breadwinner?
the Left won’t be happy until government takes over every service and industry and turns a country’s economy into a fake Soviet economy.
Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons’ employees everywhere; but no customers. Then make the donuts free. Plenty of customers!
Each Tim Hortons can employee thousands of employees giving out millions of donuts and coffees for free. All they have to do is get the government to make it so!
EVERYONE is then happy! Free jobs & free donuts! It’s the “chicken in every pot” of the 21st century!
When you have absolutely no economic sense, then you can do anything, even that which doesn’t work. It’s all good, eh?
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