B.C.B次元官网网址檚 minimum wage went up to $17.40 per hour on June 1, but it still leaves hundreds of thousands short of earning a living wage, according to an economist, who has co-published a new report.
B次元官网网址淭he statistics clearly show who these workers are,B次元官网网址� Iglika Ivanova, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, British Columbia, said. B次元官网网址淭he majority are over the age of 25, with women and racialized workers disproportionately affected.B次元官网网址�
The report B次元官网网址� which CCPA co-published with Living Wage for Families BC B次元官网网址� shows that more than a third of paid employees (740,000 people) earn less than the living wage in their community. The living wage is the hourly rate that each of two parents working full-time must earn to support a family of four in their community. The report tracking 20 cities and regions appears on the eve of the minimum wage rising by 65 cents according to new legislation tying future increases to inflation.
B次元官网网址淚n the current affordability crisis, workers are stuck in the gap between the living wage and the minimum wage and face impossible choices B次元官网网址� buy groceries or heat the house, keep up with bills or pay the rent on time,B次元官网网址� Anastasia French, provincial manager of Living Wage for Families BC, said.
The gap between the living wage and the new minimum wage is smallest in the northeastern community of Dawson Creek: $3.14. This gap increases heading south and reaches its peak in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria, where the difference exceeds $8 per hour.
B次元官网网址淚 think we need to close the gap from both sides, both in terms of raising wages, but also we need to curb some of the costs and provide more support in that kind of social infrastructure way,B次元官网网址� Ivanova said.
The report recommends raising the minimum wage to $20 per hour to narrow the gap. That would benefit more than 400,000 people across B.C.
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The report also recommends additional investments in public transit to cut costs and calls for an B次元官网网址渁ffordable food strategyB次元官网网址� combined with B次元官网网址渕ore generous income supports.B次元官网网址� It also calls for additional investments in housing.
B次元官网网址�(We) are in a full-blown housing crisis and have been for a good decadeB次元官网网址f not more,B次元官网网址� Ivanova said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 across the country and we still havenB次元官网网址檛 seen government step up quite to the scale that is necessary to do something about it, to actually move the dial.B次元官网网址�
Ivanova acknowledged recent efforts, but said it would take a B次元官网网址渇ew yearsB次元官网网址� to yield results.
Calls for a living wage or a basic guaranteed income are not new, but coincide with business concerns about excessive bureaucracy and rising costs in B.C.
When government announced that it would tie future minimum wage increases to inflation, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce welcomed the certainty. But chamber president Fiona Famulak also said B次元官网网址渨e cannot overlook the fact that the cost of doing business in British Columbia is high and business are strugglingB次元官网网址� in urging government to find B次元官网网址渂alance.B次元官网网址� She also warned about the knock-on-effects of a rising minimum wage, which sets the B次元官网网址渇loorB次元官网网址� for all wages.
Ivanova said some her reportB次元官网网址檚 recommendations would help boost the economy.
B次元官网网址淔or example, affordable housing is a huge issue that employers are facing,B次元官网网址� she said. The cost of housing B次元官网网址� not the minimum wage B次元官网网址� is often a key reason why employers struggle to fill jobs, she added. B次元官网网址淲hen you give very low-income more people, they are going to spend it and that boosts the economy,B次元官网网址� she said.
Ivanova acknowledged higher wages would impact the bottom lines, but wages are only one part of the cost-equation.
B次元官网网址淪mall businesses need more support and we can look at different ways to support them, but it shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be at the expense of the lowest-paid workers.B次元官网网址�
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Labour Minister Harry Bains said his government has made B次元官网网址渃onsistent increasesB次元官网网址� to the minimum wage since 2017 to prevent the lowest paid workers from falling behind.
B次元官网网址淭he minimum wage had been frozen for most of a decade and was one of the lowest in Canada as recently as 2016,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲ith this latest increase, it will continue as the highest of all provinces.B次元官网网址�
