The Air Canada flight attendants’ strike in August 2025 brought the issue of wage theft to the public’s attention. Canada’s Jobs Minister, Patty Hajdu, was among many Canadians who felt disturbed by the wage theft practices at Air Canada. However, for many others, hearing that employers steal workers’ wages is not shocking. Many of us, especially those who work in the low-wage sectors, have either experienced wage theft or know someone who has.
In Ontario, a recent study by the Workers’ Action Centre reveals that wage theft is more than isolated incidents by a few bad employers; it is a systemic crisis stemming from the government’s neoliberal policies of defunding public services and deregulating businesses.
Over the past decade, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (the Ministry responsible for investigating violations of the Employment Standards Act (ESA), including wage theft) has made judgments against employers resulting in nearly $200 million in unpaid wages owed to Ontario workers. However, since workers face substantial barriers when filing complaints with the Ministry of Labour, this amount is likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg in total wages stolen.
The report details the various methods employers use to steal their workers’ wages, including paying below the minimum wage, taking workers’ tips, refusing to pay for overtime, and misclassifying employees to avoid paying for benefits. Key findings from the report note that:
- 60 percent of workers surveyed reported experiencing at least one form of wage theft;
- Nearly 28 percent of workers reported being paid below the minimum wage at some point in the past five years;
- 62 percent of workers who worked overtime reported never receiving overtime pay or time off in lieu of overtime pay;
- 51 percent of workers reported not being paid for all hours worked; and
- 76 percent of workers treated as independent contractors were misclassified.
Wage theft reinforces racial inequality
One of the key highlights of the report is that widespread wage theft contributes to the persistent racial gap in poverty and wealth in Ontario.
Racialized and migrant workers are more likely to work in lower-waged sectors where wage theft is more common. Migrant workers, particularly those who have lost their status, are more vulnerable to employers who can use the threat of deportation to stop them from protesting wage theft.
Low-wage workers also face greater economic risks when experiencing wage theft. Over 20 percent of workers surveyed said wage theft caused them to go into debt, over 20 percent could not afford rent or bills, 17 percent had to use a food bank, and over 8 percent said they could not buy essentials for their children.
Migrant workers with precarious immigration status often face significant barriers applying for Employment Insurance after experiencing wage theft. Closed work permits and uneven working hours often leave migrant workers unable to satisfy the strict EI criteria. The situation is even worse for undocumented workers as they usually cannot access loans and often face difficulties accessing food banks or other support services.
How employers get away with wage theft
Part of the reason for the wage theft crisis in Ontario is the lack of enforcement of the already outdated labour laws.
When the Ford government took office in 2018, the Ministry of Labour froze the hiring of Employment Standards Officers and directed its officers to cease any proactive inspections aimed at preventing wage theft and other employment standards violations.
From 2018 to 2023, the number of permanent Employment Standards Officers in Ontario dropped from 209 to 115, while the workforce grew by approximately 1 million. By 2024, the number of workplace inspections had dropped by 77% compared to six years earlier.
The number of employer prosecutions had also decreased significantly. In 2024, the Ministry of Labour initiated only 12 Part III Prosecutions—the strongest deterrent against ESA violations, carrying the possibility of substantial fines or jail time—85% lower than in 2017.
The lack of ESA enforcement and penalties sends a message to employers that they can engage in wage theft and other labour violations and get away with it.
The report also shows that Ontario employers are increasingly exploiting the loopholes in the outdated ESA. The ESA was designed for direct employer-employee relationships and cannot address today’s multi-layered employment arrangements. Employers can reduce costs and avoid their responsibilities to workers by subcontracting and misclassifying workers as independent contractors. Workers misclassified as independent contractors do not have protections for minimum wage, overtime pay, termination pay, vacation pay, and public holiday pay. Additionally, by misclassifying workers as independent contractors, employers can avoid paying benefits contributions such as the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance.
Another contributing factor to the wage theft crisis in Ontario is the lack of legal protections for workers asserting their labour rights. Workers who speak up face the risk of employer retaliation, including reduced hours, job loss, and even physical assault. The report indicates that nearly one in three workers who took action against wage theft experienced illegal retaliation from their employers. As noted earlier, workers with precarious immigration status are particularly at risk, as employers can threaten them with deportation. As a result, 90% of ESA complaints were filed by workers who had already quit or been fired from their jobs.
The report recommends several reforms to the ESA to address the wage theft crisis, including increasing workplace inspections and enforcement, imposing harsher penalties on employers who steal wages, and establishing legal protections for workers exercising their rights under the ESA.
Join the fight!
While low-wage migrant and racialized workers are especially vulnerable to wage theft, the entire working class bears the brunt. Wage theft cuts across every sector and tax bracket, from nurses who are expected to spend unpaid time at the end of their shift handling patient handoffs to office workers misclassified as independent contractors. When employers can get away with wage theft against a section of the workforce, it drives down the average wage and exerts downward pressure on wages for all workers. Moreover, unpaid workers cannot spend money at local businesses or contribute to taxes that fund public services. All of these harm the overall economy.
As socialists, we understand that wage theft is only a symptom of the overall exploitation of all workers. We know that worker exploitation cannot be abolished without the abolition of the capitalist system. However, that does not mean that we should not participate in the fight for reforms. Any reforms that improve workers’ day-to-day lives are valuable in themselves, but it is also through the fights for reforms that workers build unity, confidence, and the capacity to continue fighting for even bigger, more politically radical demands.
The Workers’ Action Centre has launched a campaign against wage theft. This is an opportunity for us to begin organizing our communities to take concrete actions around an important economic issue. To make this successful, each of us must be an organizer. Keep an eye on the upcoming organizing meetings and invite your co-workers, fellow union members, friends, neighbours and family to join.
Ontario workers have a proud history of winning reforms through collective action, even just in recent years. In 2017, Ontario workers forced the Liberal government to pass Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, which brought improvements such as expanded emergency leave, equal pay for part-time and full-time workers, and a raise in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. When the Ford government cancelled the raise in 2019, workers mobilized again and successfully forced Ford to reinstate the $15-an-hour minimum wage.
These victories show that Ontario workers can win real change through organizing—even under a Conservative government. Let’s do it again and stop wage theft!
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