Regulations that went into effect on September 3 introduce protections for gig workers in the province, including: minimum wage, mileage compensation, advance fare transparency, and account closure and dispute resolution rules. The regulations also give workers access to workers' compensation through WorkSafeBC, the provincial agency that supports injured workers.
If you're a gig worker or considering working with an app, here's what you need to know about your rights across the country.
What led to new protections for gig workers in BC?
These laws come after years of efforts by unions and gig workers themselves to make gig work integrated into state employment standards. In state labor law, app-based workers are considered independent contractors rather than employees, meaning they are not eligible for standard employment protections, such as minimum wage and laws regarding termination and severance pay. Gig work platforms are also not required to make employment insurance (EI) or Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions on behalf of gig workers.
Employees of ride-hailing and delivery platforms, including Uber, DoorDash, SkipTheDishes and Lyft, will grow by 46% in 2023, according to Statistics Canada's December 2023 labor force survey. That increased the number of workers aged 16 to from 69 to 365,000, from 250,000 in 2022.
BC's laws are “a step in the right direction,” said Jim Stanford, an economist and director of the Center for Future Work, a progressive research institute. But gig work is still very much “the wild west of employment,” he says, and there are few ways for workers to assert their rights.
Salaries for gig workers
BC is the first province or territory to implement a minimum wage for gig workers. At $20.88 an hour, the rate is 120% of the state's average minimum wage of $17.40 an hour. It only applies to “promised time,” meaning the time drivers and dispatchers spend on assigned tasks—hence the salary payment. Employees whose time commitment to a fixed salary period falls below the minimum wage for gig workers are filled by the time they are paid. (Tips are not included in the minimum wage calculation.)
“The equation is difficult and not perfect, but it aims to start dealing with the time of doing nothing, when someone is waiting to pick up a person or a package,” said Pablo Godoy, director of emerging sectors of the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (Equation of the Equation of America). UFCW), a private sector union. UFCW Canada signed a deal with Uber Canada through 2022 that makes the union the official representative of Uber drivers and transportation workers across the country.
Car tips and allowances
As part of the new law, BC has mandated that arenas pay workers 100% of their tips. It also introduced a car allowance to compensate employees for the cost of maintaining their cars. Drivers get 45 cents per kilometer for their cars and 35 cents per kilometer for other modes of transportation, including motorbikes and bicycles. (Pedestrians are not eligible for the grant.)
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