Advertisement

Nova Scotia NDP want stronger stolen wage laws

Click to play video: 'NDP want stronger stolen wage laws'
NDP want stronger stolen wage laws
WATCH: The Nova Scotia NDP plan to introduce legislation that would strengthen supports for workers whose employers have neglected to pay their wages. Jeremy Keefe reports – Sep 17, 2018

Stolen wages, unpaid earnings, lost pay.

It can go by a number of names but they all mean the same thing; workers not being paid for hours worked.

“When an employer steals from a worker it’s scary,” said Charlie Huntley.

READ MORE: ‘It’s good to be back’: Glitter Bean Cafe opens at former Smiling Goat location

Huntley is one of a number of baristas who previously worked at The Smiling Goat Coffee Shop.

The chain ceased to exist amid much controversy stemming from allegations that wages weren’t being paid to employees.

“There were workers who had their bank accounts frozen,” they explained. “That means they didn’t have access to the very little money that they had.”

Story continues below advertisement

“It’s very stressful seeing your coworkers going through it,” Huntley said.

READ MORE: Smiling Goat owner sues former employees and union, seeks over $600,000 in damages

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Nova Scotia NDP would like to see laws surrounding unpaid wages strengthened and the process to recoup the funds sped up, and the New Democrats are hoping to make that reality with new legislation they’ll soon introduce in the Legislative Assembly.

“When you’re making minimum wage, and I’m sure in some cases there are people making less than minimum wage, so if you take a pay or two away from them you can imagine the significant impact,” said Tammy Martin, the MLA for Cape Breton Centre. “People going through their savings or choosing whether or not they buy food or pay rent, this is not acceptable.”

Story continues below advertisement

The new legislation would create an inspection system for workers to report wage theft violations anonymously, launch a wage theft inspector’s office to investigate allegations as well as issue payment orders and establish an employee wage protection program which would cover up to $10,000 of unpaid wages.

“Having a government that would enforce this, that workers have somewhere to go to ensure that their employers are responsible to pay their wages is something that we need to have,” Martin said. “And we need to have it now.”

Follow @Jeremy_Keefe

Sponsored content

AdChoices