Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini is rolling out a pair of worker-focused reforms: the first major increase to injured worker benefits in nearly three decades and a proposed ban on employers charging staff for mandatory uniforms.
The announcements, part of a broader legislative package expected in the coming days, aim to address both cost-of-living pressures and what the province describes as outdated workplace rules.
At the centre of the changes is a proposed boost to income replacement benefits provided through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Benefits would rise from 85 per cent to 90 per cent of an injured worker’s take-home pay, the first such increase since the late 1990s, when rates were reduced amid financial strain.