Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Labour Community Services of Peel was interviewed by CBC News about the growing crisis of unpaid wages by long-haul trucking employers.
Saini, a recent immigrant, took a trucking job with hopes of earning a substantial income. However, after completing two trips from Toronto to California, he found himself $3,000 short as the company failed to pay. This issue is widespread, affecting many of the 350,000 employees in Canada’s trucking industry.
“Wage theft is probably the biggest problem we’re seeing in the trucking industry right now.,” says Navi Aujla, Service Director for Labour Community Services of Peel. A non-profit that helping truckers recover stolen wages. Despite being federally regulated, enforcement is lagging, with case processing times increasing from six to eleven months in the past year.
“In the last year, it’s gone from like 6 months it takes to start a case to eight months, and now recently we’re getting emails from the labor program saying it’s 10 to 11 months.”, says Navi.
According to CBC’s reporting, The Ministry of Labour issued numerous wage payment orders against trucking companies in 2023, nearly doubling in pace this year. Saini’s former employer admitted to owing substantial amounts to ex-employees but lacks the funds to pay.
Saini’s unpaid wages have caused significant financial hardship, forcing him to borrow money from friends to cover basic expenses. The delay in wage recovery highlights the urgent need for stronger regulatory enforcement to protect workers in the trucking industry.
Watch the full video where we were interviewed. Angry long-haul truckers blow the horn over unpaid wages.
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