Hamilton’s Elections Manager is seeking election day staff to work at rates below Ontario’s minimum wage laws. A posting on the City of Hamilton website says that Election Assistants will be paid $160 for working 12 hours on election day, the $160 payment includes pay for two hours of training. Assuming this election that elections staff will get an hour unpaid lunch (which has never happened before) the hourly rate for Election Assistants will be $12.31 per hour. It’s $11.42 if they don’t get an unpaid lunch.

Ontario’s minimum wage is $14 per hour. The City of Hamilton is required by law to pay minimum wage.

Greeters will be paid $130 for the day, including the training, putting them at $10 per hour if they get an unpaid lunch break. Without that lunch break, the pay is $9.29 per hour.

Deputy Returning Officers will be paid $200 for the day, which if they get an unpaid hour for lunch, means $15.28 per hour. If they don’t get an unpaid lunch, they’ll barely make more than minimum wage at $14.29 per hour.

Busier polls are known to take more than one hour past the 8 p.m. close to complete voting of those in line, and counting, meaning some staff will be even less than the already below minimum wage rate.