Wage profile

The average hourly wage, excluding overtime, for workers in the warehouse sector in 2019 was $22.69. This compares to $25.23 for the overall “all industries” average, defined by Statistics Canada as “Industrial aggregate excluding unclassified businesses.”*

However, this $22.69 figure includes both union and non-union wages, and we have heard anecdotally that non-union workers are often paid close to minimum wage. Recent media reports have noted that as of September 2021, Amazon’s starting wage was $16/hour, though the company had plans to increase that wage to, “between $17 an hour and $21.65 an hour.”**

* Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0206-01 Average hourly earnings for employees paid by the hour, by industry, annual. (from https://doi.org/10.25318/1410020601-eng).

** Amanda Stephenson. “Amazon to hire 15,000 employees across Canada; increase wages.” Canadian Press. (September 13, 2021). (https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/amazon-to-hire-15-000-employees-across-canada-increase-wages-1.5582942).