when working hard isn't enough:

 

when working hard isn't enough: housing, wages and a society under pressure

By Tina Winterlik — Zipolita

Something has to give

The other day, I was talking with a lovely woman who had helped me with my pop-up art displays. We were talking about how difficult it is to find good staff these days. She told me her son pays $2,400 a month while sharing a place with someone else. She is fortunate enough to own her own small apartment.

That conversation stayed with me.

How can young people build a life when rent consumes so much of their income? How can someone work full-time, pay their bills and still have enough left to save for a home, raise a family or simply enjoy life?

Then I came across a story about Wicked Cafe in Vancouver.

I have ridden past that café many times. It looks like a cool, creative place, and I've always wanted to stop in. So it was sad to learn about the employment standards case involving its staff.

According to a September 2026 report by Canadian HR Reporter, the BC Employment Standards Tribunal upheld an order against the company operating Wicked Cafe and Bakery. The company was ordered to pay a former employee $3,078 in unpaid wages, plus interest, and $2,000 in administrative penalties. The confirmed violations included improper overtime pay, statutory holiday pay and withheld gratuities. The tribunal did not accept all of the employee's claims, including a separate claim for 120 additional unpaid hours.

Read the report on Wicked Cafe.

This isn't about assuming every employer is bad. Many small businesses are struggling, too. But when workers are not paid what they are legally owed, that is not simply a business difficulty. Workers have bills to pay, too.

And I know something about that.

I learned about workers' rights at 16

My first real job was in 1978, after three years of berry picking. I was 16 when I went to work in Spences Bridge. My mother didn't want to leave me, but I was growing up and beginning my working life.

The woman who hired me was only about 19, I think, and her husband was around 30.

Near the end of my shift, a big bus would arrive and empty everything out. I was expected to restock everything before I could leave.

That was only one of several unfair and unethical things that happened.

My mother helped me take the matter to Labour Relations, and I won $600.

Years later, in 1999, I was downsized from another job. I pursued a claim over unpaid overtime and other pay issues and won a $7,000 settlement.

This isn't a mistake. It's abuse.

Workers should not have to fight for wages they have already earned. Young people should not have to learn the hard way that an employer may take advantage of their age, inexperience or financial circumstances.

Know your rights. Keep your records. Don't assume your employer is always doing the right thing.

The cost of living is changing everything

We keep hearing that employers cannot find good staff. We hear that businesses are struggling. We hear that housing is expensive because there isn't enough of it.

But we need to look at the whole picture.

If rent takes most of a person's paycheque, what incentive is there to work long hours for low wages? If someone works hard but still cannot afford a safe place to live, how are they supposed to get ahead?

What happens when people cannot afford food, rent, transportation and basic necessities, even when they are working?

Some people move back in with family. Others take on debt, work multiple jobs or leave the places they grew up in. Some lose their housing altogether.

And when people are pushed into poverty, grief, exhaustion and desperation, the consequences reach far beyond an individual household.

Homelessness is not just a housing problem. It is connected to wages, mental health, addiction, isolation and the loss of community.

We cannot keep treating each problem as though it exists in isolation.

From Vancouver to Mexico

I've spent much of my life travelling to and loving Mexico. It is a beautiful country, full of generous people, culture, creativity and community. But beauty does not protect people from exploitation.

In recent years, I have also followed reports of extortion and insecurity in parts of Mexico, including Oaxaca. These problems have their own causes, and they cannot simply be equated with Canada's housing crisis. But both situations remind us what happens when people lose security, trust and confidence that the systems around them will protect them.

When people face economic pressure, when businesses and families struggle, and when those with power can exploit those with less, communities suffer.

Governments cannot solve every human problem. But they can enforce labour laws, protect tenants, invest in housing and public services, and make sure that reporting abuse does not become an impossible task for people who are already struggling.

They can also stop pretending that economic growth alone tells us whether a society is doing well.

A city can have expensive real estate, impressive businesses and wealthy investors while the people who keep it running cannot afford to live there.

What kind of success is that?

We need to wake up

I don't want to see small businesses fail. I don't want workers exploited. I don't want young people forced to choose between paying rent and buying groceries. I don't want seniors spending their last years worrying about where they will sleep.

And I don't want homelessness, addiction and despair to become things we simply accept as normal.

We need affordable housing, fair wages, decent working conditions and meaningful support for people in crisis. We need governments that listen before situations become emergencies, and employers who understand that their staff are human beings, not disposable resources.

A business is part of a community. A worker is part of a community. A person sleeping outside is part of a community, too.

We are all connected.

You cannot squeeze people indefinitely and expect society to remain healthy.

Governments need to wake up. Employers need to do the right thing. And those of us who see what is happening need to keep talking about it.

Because behind every statistic is a human being trying to get through the day.

And working hard should be enough to give people a fair chance at a decent life.

— Tina Winterlik, Zipolita

Also

When workers are afraid to speak up

Some people commenting on the Wicked Cafe story also raised concerns about employee mistreatment in some Asian-owned restaurants. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously, but we need to be careful not to stereotype an entire community.

Workplace exploitation can happen in any industry and under any employer. Newcomers, temporary foreign workers and people who face language barriers may be particularly vulnerable if they don't understand their rights or fear losing their jobs.

The issue isn't where an employer comes from. It's whether workers are being paid fairly, receiving the overtime they're legally entitled to, and treated with dignity.

Labour laws must apply equally to everyone, and governments need to enforce them. Workers should never have to accept mistreatment because they are afraid to speak up.

Fair wages, safe working conditions and respect should have no cultural or language barriers.

#WorkersRights #AffordableHousing #HousingCrisis #FairWages #LabourRights #Homelessness #CostOfLiving #SocialJustice #Vancouver