The recent publication of a minimum wage job offer to attract five cooks to an expensive Montreal restaurant clearly reveals the true face of what is called the “labor shortage”.
I am one of those who were outraged by reading this job offer, at the same time when the whole of the employers described the problem as being an economic disaster which would put the brakes on the current recovery.
At the CSN, since the very first signs of this crisis, we have been studying the situation and thinking about concrete and effective means that could put an end to it. And we are indeed seeing that there is a scarcity of labor in many sectors, largely where wages and benefits fall short of the often difficult and arduous work that is demanded.
We even argue this: we face both a “shortage” of respect and acceptable working conditions and a surplus of poorly paid jobs.
For us, it is increasingly clear that when employers question the increase of a clearly insufficient minimum wage, they perpetuate a system that promotes poor working conditions, thereby undermining their own ability to recruit. motivated employees.
The end of PKU and PCRE
Now that PCU and PCRE are a thing of the past, we learned a few days ago that the long-awaited return to work by employers has not materialized, and that they are still struggling to attract employees. they hoped so much. In the end, these benefits simply saved many people from a sudden plunge into extreme poverty. Remember that less than $ 500 per week, nobody got richer, this amount not even reaching the minimum annual income threshold of $ 25,921 for an adult, in 2020.
The bad idea of sharing poverty
To justify his minimum wage job offers, the well-known Montreal restaurateur argued that the sharing of tips between service and kitchen employees raised the hourly rate to $ 18 an hour. This means that this well-heeled entrepreneur, instead of decently paying his cooks, lets his waiters and waiters do it for him …
While waitresses and waiters derive most of their income from tips, we strongly question this form of redistribution of wealth from the dining room to the kitchen, since it does not compensate for the poor base wages offered. to those who prepare meals.
I would also like to remind you that tip sharing cannot be imposed by employers. The initiative must come from the waitresses and waiters, and a clear and negotiated agreement must exist between the employees, without the intervention of the employer.
If there is one lesson that we should collectively draw from this important episode, it is that we cannot attract and retain workers by offering them minimum working conditions that do not allow them to complete a job. budget by having a full-time job.
And that it is indecent to work full time and be hungry.
What do you think? Express your opinion