Working on the edge

They recall the experiences of the “sweating system” of outsourcing in the garment industry and the recruitment through employment agencies and immigration practices during the nation-building periods of the late 1800s.2 Also similar is that immigrants and racialized workers are over-represented in this work. [...] Increase the minimum wage immediately to $10 and move to benchmark the minimum wage to the low-income cut-off (LICO) index or some similar standard and adjust annually by the cost of living increase. [...] In the spring of 2006, members of the WAC decided that the broader public and the government needed to hear about the deteriorating conditions in low-paid, precarious work and the barriers that workers face when they try to address violations of basic minimum standards. [...] These are the workers that make up the majority of workers contacting the Workers’ Action Centre and workers who are members of the Centre. [...] We presented a draft of the report to the WAC members and some of the workers interviewed for this report and asked for their feedback.