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In just under three weeks, minimum-wage workers in Ontario will be getting a big raise. But some in Ottawa’s restaurant industry are worried that higher pay will put pressure on local establishments to cut quality — or jobs.
On Jan. 1, the minimum wage will increase to $14 from $11.60. A year later, on New Year’s Day in 2019, pay will increase again to a minimum of $15 per hour. Servers’ wages, which are lower than standard minimum-wage jobs, will increase in the New Year to $12.20 from $10.10, and eventually to $13.05 in 2019.
That means more money in the pockets of low-income Ontarians, though some restaurant owners and workers think the change could have negative consequences as well. This newspaper talked to some of them Tuesday.
Name: Terry Tsigos
Restaurant: The Greek Souvlaki Shack
Position: Owner
“Will it effect small businesses? Yes, it will.”
“Food costs, maintenance costs, everything’s going up. So it’s just another cost going up. Utilities … everything is high.”
“For us to absorb this hit, we gotta cut somewhere. Where do you usually cut? Labour. You can’t cut quality of food, or you’ll lose your customers. You lose your customers, businesses close down.”
“I’m happy for people to have more money. I think ‘Sure, give people more money.’ And the more money people have, the more they spend. But let the people use it. Don’t have the government giving some and then taking twice as much out from the back door.”
Name: George Stryker
Restaurant: The Greek Souvlaki Shack, Bank Street
Position: Server
“It’s good, but it’s kinda bad, too. … Waiters aren’t hit by it too much because we’re still dependent on tips.”
“I think in some way, it will balance out in the end, you know? It’s like when you weren’t allowed to smoke in businesses anymore. Some businesses suffered for a while but it balanced out in the end. … Maybe the rise in minimum wage will be the same.”
Name: Brook Gillespie
Restaurant: Atomic Rooster, Bank Street
Position: Server/Supervisor
“I can’t speak for the owner, but I think it’s going to be harder on small businesses, for sure.”
“Because in the increase, it’s not just the people who are going up to $15. It’s also the people who are at $15 already, so their wage has to go up as well. So that’s a huge increase in labour costs.”
“I believe in a living wage, so does the owner here, but it hasn’t been implemented in a way that is conducive to small businesses.”
“We’re talking about putting our prices up. But that’s also to cover costs. A lot of the places we order from are having to put their prices up.”
“This place is pretty well established, so we’ll probably survive. But I can see how a lot of other places are not going to.”
Name: Rita Azarenko
Restaurant: Gabriel Pizza, Bank Street
Position: Server
“For servers it matters less. For us, it’s going to be $12.10 or something, about $12. I don’t know. I’m happy about it, and I don’t think it will affect this place in any way. I don’t see how this would affect this place.”
Name: Nikki Menzies
Restaurant: Connor’s Gaelic Pub, Bank Street
Position: Server/Supervisor
“I don’t get paid minimum wage, as a server. But if I got paid minimum wage, I would think this was a stupid thing.”
“About six months ago, we started increasing prices slowly … just so that the people who sit on that side of the bar — the regulars — didn’t feel it as heavily.”
“We’ll definitely be decreasing staff levels for sure. … We also have no choice but to up our specials in price or to do less specials than we normally do.”
“Most restaurants are already doing it — your food quality changes. … Right now we’re buying ground beef from the Glebe Meat Market, and I can assure you that we won’t be doing that if we have to pay thousands more in labour costs.”
查看原文...
On Jan. 1, the minimum wage will increase to $14 from $11.60. A year later, on New Year’s Day in 2019, pay will increase again to a minimum of $15 per hour. Servers’ wages, which are lower than standard minimum-wage jobs, will increase in the New Year to $12.20 from $10.10, and eventually to $13.05 in 2019.
That means more money in the pockets of low-income Ontarians, though some restaurant owners and workers think the change could have negative consequences as well. This newspaper talked to some of them Tuesday.
•
Name: Terry Tsigos
Restaurant: The Greek Souvlaki Shack
Position: Owner
“Will it effect small businesses? Yes, it will.”
“Food costs, maintenance costs, everything’s going up. So it’s just another cost going up. Utilities … everything is high.”
“For us to absorb this hit, we gotta cut somewhere. Where do you usually cut? Labour. You can’t cut quality of food, or you’ll lose your customers. You lose your customers, businesses close down.”
“I’m happy for people to have more money. I think ‘Sure, give people more money.’ And the more money people have, the more they spend. But let the people use it. Don’t have the government giving some and then taking twice as much out from the back door.”
•
Name: George Stryker
Restaurant: The Greek Souvlaki Shack, Bank Street
Position: Server
“It’s good, but it’s kinda bad, too. … Waiters aren’t hit by it too much because we’re still dependent on tips.”
“I think in some way, it will balance out in the end, you know? It’s like when you weren’t allowed to smoke in businesses anymore. Some businesses suffered for a while but it balanced out in the end. … Maybe the rise in minimum wage will be the same.”
•
Name: Brook Gillespie
Restaurant: Atomic Rooster, Bank Street
Position: Server/Supervisor
“I can’t speak for the owner, but I think it’s going to be harder on small businesses, for sure.”
“Because in the increase, it’s not just the people who are going up to $15. It’s also the people who are at $15 already, so their wage has to go up as well. So that’s a huge increase in labour costs.”
“I believe in a living wage, so does the owner here, but it hasn’t been implemented in a way that is conducive to small businesses.”
“We’re talking about putting our prices up. But that’s also to cover costs. A lot of the places we order from are having to put their prices up.”
“This place is pretty well established, so we’ll probably survive. But I can see how a lot of other places are not going to.”
•
Name: Rita Azarenko
Restaurant: Gabriel Pizza, Bank Street
Position: Server
“For servers it matters less. For us, it’s going to be $12.10 or something, about $12. I don’t know. I’m happy about it, and I don’t think it will affect this place in any way. I don’t see how this would affect this place.”
•
Name: Nikki Menzies
Restaurant: Connor’s Gaelic Pub, Bank Street
Position: Server/Supervisor
“I don’t get paid minimum wage, as a server. But if I got paid minimum wage, I would think this was a stupid thing.”
“About six months ago, we started increasing prices slowly … just so that the people who sit on that side of the bar — the regulars — didn’t feel it as heavily.”
“We’ll definitely be decreasing staff levels for sure. … We also have no choice but to up our specials in price or to do less specials than we normally do.”
“Most restaurants are already doing it — your food quality changes. … Right now we’re buying ground beef from the Glebe Meat Market, and I can assure you that we won’t be doing that if we have to pay thousands more in labour costs.”
查看原文...
