Several protests are planned Wednesday outside Tim Hortons restaurants in southern Ontario.
The move comes after franchise owners in Cobourg and Kingston told their workers they’re eliminating paid breaks and some benefits in response to the province’s minimum wage hike.
READ MORE: Tim Hortons blames ‘reckless’ franchise owners for benefit cuts, backlash
There were calls yesterday for a boycott on what was called “No Timmys Tuesday.”
The Ontario Federation of Labour has organized a number of protests throughout the day in Toronto, Guelph, London, Peterborough and Windsor.
A statement on Tim Hortons’ corporate website last week placed blame on a “reckless few” franchise owners for employee benefit cuts.
Condemnation has been swift to the news that owners of two Cobourg locations decided to cut employee benefits and breaks to compensate for a provincial minimum wage hike to $14 an hour, up from $11.60.
READ MORE: Lost jobs, cut hours, no paid breaks. Do minimum wage hikes hurt workers?
Industry groups and business owners have cautioned that the jump in the minimum wage would cause prices to rise and staff to be cut.
Ontario’s minimum wage will rise again in 2019 to $15.