Woman complains she needs 2 hours of work in Canada to buy breakfast and coffee, gets reality check

Ever wondered if your hourly pay is sufficient to buy you even a cup of coffee? @cypitheo0 discussed in her now-viral video how it takes her two hours of work to pay for "iced coffee and breakfast." “When I’m two hours into my shift so I’ve officially paid off my breakfast and iced coffee,” Cyp wrote in the caption. The video has garnered 1.3 million views and 1,100 comments. Cyp lives in Vancouver. It gives a minimum hourly wage of $16.75 and as per the government website, the Canadian minimum wage “applies regardless of how employees are paid – hourly, salary, commission or on an incentive basis.”

@cypitheo0 video surprised people from around the world. Many couldn't relate to her complaining about the minimum wage when for then, it was more than enough. Americans were surprised with the Canadian minimum wage and they expressed it in the comments section. The federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25 per hour. @Dryherbvapeevangelist commented, "And that’s on your labor and your value produced not adding up, welcome to capitalism." @Wade wrote, "Easy fix, eat cereal or something for breakfast and don't buy a $6 coffee. But yes it's ridiculous either way." @AJ shared, "My thoughts when my co-workers would spend $20 on door dash for lunch and then I'm just chillin' with a PB and J sandwich." @Beck wrote, "Breakfast and iced coffee for me is 30 mins of work. but I don’t go to Starbies and pay $8 for a venti drink." Many also came in support of Cyp. "Always try to remind yourself, 'Just two more hours and I can afford takeout!'" commented @brendan0686. 

In another story about an employee and his meals, a video posted by @cactusmvrks went viral. It shows him talking about his work-life balance. He discussed taking a 30-minute break at work in the viral video. Mario Scott regularly posts about his experience as a McDonald’s employee. As of this week, his video has over 1.8 million views. “I know you’re on break, but we’re really struggling,” the overlay text on the video read. However, Scott did not move after he received this information about a supposed rush. He looked unperturbed, sat in his booth and ate his McNugget in peace.

He captioned the video, "I don't care if anyone ordered 25 Mc Doubles!! I'm on break," with several laughing emojis. Scott received support from other TikTok users as the video amassed 1.4 million views, 261.1k likes and hundreds of comments. @KaliaRose commented, "Breaks are literally 15-30 mins, you all can handle 30 mins without me!" @matcha_lex shared, "I remember my coworker was on her 30 and our manager made her clock back in because we were struggling, lmao." @alefx chimed in, "Or when you just clocked out and a customer asks you for help on their order like 'Sorry, I ain’t getting paid for that'."

According to NOLO, "Federal law does not require that you be allotted or paid for breaks to eat meals. Your employer generally does not have to pay you for meal breaks of 30 minutes or more—as long as you are completely relieved of work duties during that time." As for McDonald's policies, according to CFA Journal, "Meal breaks for McDonald’s employees are not paid. However, a worker is entitled to half-hour meal breaks. These breaks can be taken if one has been at work for more than three and a half hours." Employees are standing up for themselves and they are asking for what they have earned and what they truly deserve.