Living wage policy doesn’t extend to PNE workers
Posted June 13, 2017 7:13 pm.
Last Updated June 13, 2017 7:19 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Workers who are employed for organizations affiliated with the City of Vancouver, such as the PNE, aren’t guaranteed a living wage, despite the City recently being certified as a living wage employer.
The living wage is the hourly rate required for two working adults to meet the basic needs of a family of four. It is calculated annually by the Living Wage for Families Campaign, and is based on regional cost of living.
For existing City of Vancouver workers, the certification is largely symbolic. All staff already make at least the baseline $20.62 an hour that the new policy guarantees. But many contractors for the City are set to receive a pay rise.
However, Deanna Ogle with the Living Wage for Families campaign says the policy doesn’t extend to affiliates of the City, such as the public library, community centres, or the PNE, which is currently looking to fill more than 1000 positions for its 2017 Fair.
“The PNE, although the land is owned by the City, has its own independent board as well as operating and hiring procedures, and so that won’t be covered by the living wage.”
She says it’s not easy to implement a living wage policy anywhere, and there are challenges that need to be addressed before it’s done.
Ogle says the PNE has a lot of workers who are paid less than the living wage but says the campaign has been in talks with union representatives.
