The Ryerson Free Press has an article about the plight of the bike courier to make a decent wage in Toronto:
“You can compare it to people taking advantage of the labour in the third world. Courier companies don’t have to pay holidays or vacation pay… they even try avoiding paying their WSIB,” said Hayward.
Because Ontario labour law recognizes couriers as independent contractors, they do not fall under the protection of the Ontario Employment Standards legislation.
According to Sam Vrankulj, a labour relations professor at McMaster University, independent contractors have no control over wages, vacation entitlement, maximum hours of work or severance.
The Toronto Bike Messenger Association of Toronto in a partnership with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, are currently leading a movement to unionize each individual courier company, which would allow couriers basic worker’s rights.
Hayward imagines a union contract including vacation pay, paid holidays and better job security. Most importantly, to combat rate undercutting, it would ensure couriers be paid a fair wage even if rates drop. Concurrently though, if rates rise, couriers would be paid according to the higher price.
Though historically, bike couriers have been viewed as a notoriously skeptical subculture of anarchists and anti-establishment types, Hayward remains confident unionizing the industry is possible.
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