Delivery drivers in B.C. paid below minimum wage asked to file official complaint
Paying app-based delivery drivers in B.C. less than minimum wage violates labour law but it will continue to happen until somebody challenges it, according to the Ministry of Labour.
Companies like DoorDash and Skip The Dishes consider their drivers to be independent contractors who are not subject to minimum wage laws.
MLA Adam Walker, Parliamentary Secretary for the New Economy, told iNFOnews in a previous interview there shouldn't be two tiers of workers where some are guaranteed a minimum wage and others are not. And although app-based delivery businesses have been getting away with paying their drivers less than minimum wage on a broad scale, he doesn’t believe that conforms with the law.
That position was reaffirmed by the Ministry of Labour in an emailed response March 16 to the same question about whether or not B.C.’s minimum wage law applies to app-based delivery drivers.
READ MORE: Delivery apps skip the labour laws in B.C. by paying less than minimum wage
“Whether or not a worker or a category of workers are covered by the Employment Standards Act can only determined with absolute clarity after a full investigation, hearing both sides of the issue and the rendering of a formal decision by the (Employment Standards) Branch,” reads the statement from the ministry.
If underpaid workers were to formally complain, then a full investigation could be prompted, the ministry said.
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