Less than 24 hours after breaking for the summer, Premier Kathleen Wynne made a brief stop in Barrie to drum up support for her government's plan to increase the minimum wage.
Wynne stopped at Innovative Automation on Friday morning, a company she says is a shining example of how her minimum wage plan will help people.
“Having fair work places and treating people decently at work and paying, as Steve said a living wage, means that people are able to look after their families and that makes communities stronger,” she told a crowd.
The Liberal government announced earlier this week their plan to increase the minimum wage to $14 an hour on Jan. 1, 2018 and a further increase of $15 in 2019.
Wynne also announced equal pay for part-time workers who do work equal to full-time staff. Workers would also get three weeks paid vacation a year after five years.
Officials with Innovative Automation say you get more out of your workers if you pay them well and the benefits exceed the costs associated with paying higher than minimum wage.
The company is building a second plant in Barrie and will be hiring 30 more full-time workers by 2018.
