Labour activists converged Wednesday on Tim Hortons restaurants to protest pay and benefit clawbacks pegged to the recent hike in Ontario’s minimum wage.

About a dozen protests were held throughout Ontario Wednesday, where labour activists gathered outside the restaurant locations — not to stop people from getting their coffee or bagel, but to spread a message of support for the chain’s workers and apply pressure on the chain’s parent company.

“Where’s the justice? Where’s the Canadian values?” said John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, speaking of the clawbacks at an 8:00 a.m. protest at Markham Rd. and Lawrence Ave E.

Cartwright and President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Chris Buckley, said the protests were aimed at Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which they say has the power to tell its franchisees to reverse “punitive” responses to the minimum wage increase.

“Imagine what it’s like serving coffee . . . this is hard work. They deserve a living wage, and guess what? They deserve a break as well,” Cartwright said.

Protesters want Restaurant Brands International to issue a directive to franchises preventing these benefits from being clawed back.





Ontario raised the minimum wage to $14 on Jan. 1. In response, some employers have moved to offset the increased labour costs by eliminating paid breaks or increasing workers’ contributions for benefits — most notably at Tim Hortons restaurants in Cobourg owned by Jeri Horton-Joyce and Ron Joyce Jr., the children of the chain’s founders.

Workers at the Markham and Lawrence location were told they could no longer accept tips or have paid breaks.

Restaurant Brands International has called the restaurant owners who have taken action a “rogue group,” the actions of which “do not reflect the values of our brand.”

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“Shame on RBI, and RBI better listen up today. The CEO better hear me loud and clear,” Buckley told the group of about two dozen protesters in Scarborough, who were mostly union members.

“We’re going to make sure that they’re respected and they’re not disadvantaged by greedy multinational companies,” he said.

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In a letter sent Wednesday to RBI chief executive officer Daniel Schwartz, Buckley called for RBI to take “immediate steps” to ensure franchise owners respect labour laws.

“Stating your disdain for the actions of ‘rogue’ franchise owners is not enough to resolve this unfortunate situation,” the letter said.

“Almost all of our restaurants in Canada are independently owned and operated by small business owners who are responsible for handling all employment matters, including all policies for benefits and wages, for their restaurants. Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction,” said RBI in a statement to the Star.

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“Our focus continues to be on supporting our Restaurant Owners by growing sales and profitability through a balanced and multi-faceted strategy while ensuring we provide our Guests with great experiences.”

Fight for $15 and Fairness and the Workers Action Centre were also involved in co-ordinating Wednesday’s protests.

Pam Frache, the co-ordinator of the Fight for $15 and Fairness, a movement that has spearheaded the campaign for a higher minimum wage and employment law reform in Ontario, noted some small business owners have already embraced a higher minimum wage, which will rise from $14 an hour in 2018 to $15 next year.

“It’s high time that sustainable business models don’t have to compete for businesses that rely on sub-poverty wages,” Frache said.

Bowen Lafave, who attended Wednesday’s protest in Scarborough with a small group of construction workers, said it was important to show solidarity with the Tim Hortons employees and the labour movement.

“We’re not here to call for a boycott,” he said, echoing Cartwright. “Everyone loves their coffee.”

Albert Salmon, a retired LCBO worker, said he came to the protest at Markham and Lawrence to “help my brothers and sisters.”

“We’re not going to put up with these corporations trying to take advantage of people who cannot help themselves,” Salmon said.

A noontime protest outside the Tim Hortons location at Bloor St. W. and Bedford Rd. drew young people and students from the nearby downtown campus of the University of Toronto.

At its peak, around three dozen protesters crowded the street corner, and police officers occasionally stepped in to help pedestrians get through. Organizers chanted “Hold the sugar, hold the cream, Tim Hortons don’t be mean” as passing vehicles honked in support.

Jennifer Galicinsky, a Master of Divinity student who worked for Tim Hortons from 1994 to 1996, said she wanted the company to feel pressured to be a better employer.

“I think it’s really off brand for them to be bullying their workers.”

Another passerby, Vic Host, called the protests “well timed” and said he expected more protests to break out in light of employers' responses to the minimum wage increase.

A minimum wage increase was originally outside the scope of the government’s two-year review of labour laws aimed at tackling the rise of precarious work, culminating in Bill 148. But the two independent special advisers appointed to conduct the review noted that many vulnerable workers in Ontario are “low-wage earners and are highly concentrated in the retail trades, accommodation and food services industries.”

In response to their findings — and numerous submissions by workers’ rights advocates — the Ontario government vowed to increase province’s base hourly rate to $15 an hour by 2019, arguing many employees were “still struggling to support their families on the current minimum wage.”

Exemptions for students under 18 and liquor servers remain intact, though the province’s special advisers recommended they be eliminated or phased out.

This week, a social media movement encouraged customers to take part in a “No Timmies Tuesday” and instead visit independent coffee shops.

With files from Robert Benzie

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