Quebec won’t introduce tip-sharing mechanism sought by restaurant owners

MONTREAL — The Quebec government is nixing a proposal by restaurant owners to have a tip-pooling clause added to the province’s labour code to address a considerable wage gap among their employees.

The association representing the restaurant owners made the request earlier this week, citing an income discrepancy between servers and kitchen workers.

As it stands, only waiters receiving tips decide if and how they are divided.

The association conducted a survey last year that suggests wait staff make roughly $27 per hour versus about $16 for kitchen staff.

But Labour Minister Dominique Vien told a legislature hearing this week the tip-sharing request is akin to robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Vien says she’s prepared to have owners and staff representatives sit down to study the matter further with her department staff.

The hearing into revisions of the province’s labour standards act continue until May 29.