Ontario raising minimum wage to $11.25

Wage increases will be tied into Consumer Price Index

Ontario is increasing the general minimum wage from $11 per hour to $11.25 per hour, as a result of recent changes to the Employment Standards Act (ESA).

The wage increase will take effect Oct. 1, 2015, and minimum wage rates for jobs in special categories such as liquor servers and students will be increasing at the same time.

The changes to the ESA also tie minimum wage increases to Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which experts say make wage increases more fair and predictable for business.

Tying the minimum wage to the CPI was a recommendation from the Minimum Wage Advisory Panel in its final report in 2014.

The primary sectors employing minimum wage workers are accommodation and food, retail trade and agriculture, according to the Ontario government, which also said this will be the ninth minimum wage increase since 2003.

Moving forward, minimum wage increases will be announced by April 1 each year, and will take effect October 1 of the same year.

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