The results are in from a regional survey of local business owners, asking for input on proposed changes to labour rules and the minimum wage.
Individual surveys were conducted by the Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County chambers of commerce and all three organizations got together last week to go over their findings and put together some Quinte Region-wide stats.
According to the results only 14% of business owners said the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act would make no difference to their business, while 45% said they’d likely have to put a hiring freeze in place and 23% said the legislative changes would likely lead to layoffs.
The biggest factor in those decisions is a 32% jump in the minimum wage, to $15 per hour, by 2018.
The survey also found 31% of respondents would likely cut back on employee benefits, in order to balance the wage increase and 37% said they would have to decrease the amount of charitable donations they make.
As part of the Keep Ontario Working group, the chambers say they’re asking the provincial government to slow down on the implementation of the bill, as a way to help businesses cope with the planned changes.
