When one thinks of those who work at the City of Toronto, they may overlook the gig workers that help maintain the city and help it keep running, from engineers and mechanics to cleaners and handypeople.

The wages for these positions is set to increase this summer (retroactive to January) as part of an update to T.O.'s Fair Wage Policy schedule, which prompted municipal politics expert Matt Elliott to break down what people in some of these jobs actually earn — or are set to start earning — in his latest City Hall Watcher newsletter.

Elliott created some very informative charts showing the highest and lowest-paying contractor roles at the City, and some of the rates may surprise you.

At the top were specialized trades occupations like welders (which make $68.28-$70.32 per hour, depending), elevator mechanics ($66.52 an hour), refrigeration and HVAC mechanics ($59.16) and plumbers and pipe fitter steamfitters ($56.51).

Also up there were sprinkler fitters ($54.98 per hour), certain crane operator-engineers, depending on the type of crane ($52.71-$53.44 an hour) and boilermaker journeypeople ($52.94 hourly).

At the other end of the spectrum were basic security guards, light duty cleaners, and interior/exterior window cleaners (all of whom make $17.21 an hour), along with other types of cleaners, watchpeople and handypeople (a security guard shift lead at Union Station makes $25.06 hourly, while a heavy-duty cleaner brings in $19.72).

For reference, the minimum wage in Ontario will be $17.20 as of October 1, 2024, up from $16.55.

And, these figures do not include vacation and holiday pay, fringe benefits, etc.

As Elliott notes, "There are many commonalities... welders do very well, especially if they bring their own equipment for tunnel work. The highest-earning hourly wage here translates to an annual salary of about $150,000."

Meanwhile, "security guards, cleaners and gardeners are generally some of the lowest-paid workers doing City-commissioned work. For the lowest-paid security guards and cleaners, [wages] translate to a full-time annual salary of about $36,000."

Then there are City Hall's best-compensated full-time staffers' salaries to consider: TTC CEO Rick Leary at $562,326 a year, City Manager Paul Johnson at $417,216 and Toronto Police Sergeant Chung Wong, who rakes in $378,254 per annum.