{"id":705,"date":"2015-12-01T16:04:57","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T21:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/thejunction\/?p=705"},"modified":"2015-12-01T16:56:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T21:56:42","slug":"service-industry-gets-to-keep-the-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/thejunction\/2015\/12\/01\/service-industry-gets-to-keep-the-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Service industry gets to keep the change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Servers, hairdressers, bartenders and other service-industry workers who rely on tips should soon be able to pocket all of their hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a long time coming,\u201d said Amanda Chachel, a nursing student who works in an Ottawa restaurant\u00a0where her bosses take a portion of her tips.<\/p>\n

Chachel was reacting to news that the Ontario legislature is expected to hold a final vote next week on a bill that would protect tips from the grasp of employers.<\/p>\n

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A tip jar in Mike’s Place at Carleton University. THE JUNCTION\/Curtis Panke<\/p><\/div>\n

The new bill looks to amend existing legislation by prohibiting an employer from withholding an employee\u2019s tips or gratuities, or making a deduction from employee tips.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like a scam,\u201d said Chachel, whose tips are withheld to pay for such things as broken glasses, plates, and credit card service charges.<\/p>\n

Chachel has to pay $1 for credit card fees per shift, even if she doesn\u2019t have a customer that pays with a credit card. Chachel argues that as, a server, she should not be responsible for these fees.<\/p>\n

Chachel said there is uncertainty as to where her tip money goes. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to get accountability where the tips are going for,\u201d she explains. Asking where the money is going can \u201ccreate an atmosphere of distrust,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Christina Carson, 25, who has worked as a server for the past seven year, says the bill doesn\u2019t affect her personally because she keeps all her tips. She would be \u201ca bit outraged if my tips were going to the owner.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she supports the bill because she knows service-industry workers rely on tips for income. They help help bridge the gap between the $9.80 minimum wage for servers and the standard minimum wage rate of $11.25 across the province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hourly wage is so low, it\u2019s insufficient to support daily life,\u201d says Chachel.<\/p>\n