Increase in B.C.’s minimum wage not enough: economist
Posted June 1, 2020 10:37 am.
Last Updated June 1, 2020 11:40 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — People earning minimum wage are getting a raise Monday, but advocates feel those workers still aren’t making enough.
The minimum wage went up 75 cents to $14.60 an hour.
However, Iglika Ivanova, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said at the new wage level, one would have to work 35 hours a week to make the same rate as people are getting through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
She argues working full-time should be able to push people to a higher standard of living than simply surviving.
“I think we should question that. I think we should think about the standard that we think is acceptable for people to have as they work full-time,” she added.
With the increase, B.C. now has the second highest minimum wage in Canada, behind Alberta, which sets the earnings floor at $15 an hour.
The centre for policy alternatives has long called for a $15 per hour minimum wage.
Two years ago, the provincial government, laid out a four-year plan to increase the minimum wage, which will reach $15.20 an hour in 2021.
Five other provinces have increased their minimum wages this year: Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Saskatchewan and
Manitoba increased their minimum wages last October.
B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains has said the government understands the pressures facing employers during the pandemic, but added workers are also struggling.
The liquor server minimum wage increased Monday to $13.95 per hour, up $1.25 an hour.
The resident caretaker minimum wage increased to $876.35 a month for those who manage nine to 60 units, while those managing more will receive $2,985.04 a month.
The live-in camp leader minimum wage increased to $116.86 per day.
“These increases for low-wage workers are the third of four planned increases scheduled to take place on June 1 of each year since 2018,” says a government release.
“The increases are the result of recommendations from the independent Fair Wages Commission, established in 2017 to advise government on an approach to raising provincial minimum wages.”
