B.C.B次元官网网址檚 minimum wage is going up next month as part of a plan to hit $15 per hour by 2021.
NDP Labour Minister Harry Bains made good on his partyB次元官网网址檚 election promise on Tuesday, saying the rate will go up by 50 cents, to $11.35 an hour, in September. The liquor serversB次元官网网址� wage will go up by the same amount to $10.10 per hour.
The previous BC Liberal government to boost the minimum wage by 50 cents in February, but Bains panned what he called their slow and unpredictable effort.
B次元官网网址淲e will give it a legal effect so that it will be implemented Sept. 15,B次元官网网址� said Bains.
The rate will go up by B次元官网网址渋ncremental and predictable increases,B次元官网网址� he told reporters, with a B次元官网网址渞esponsible, fair approach.B次元官网网址�
B.C.B次元官网网址檚 minimum wage is currently the seventh highest rate out of 10 in Canada. The jump to $11.35 will put it at the third highest. Seattle has also promised to increase its minimum wage to $15.
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The province will also start a fair wage commission to help employers prepare, he said, and help minimize the impact on small businesses.
B次元官网网址淭hey can actually look at their structure and costs ahead of time,B次元官网网址� Bains said. B次元官网网址淲orkers will have a few dollars more in their pockets and they will B次元官网网址� boost our economy.B次元官网网址�
The commission will explore how to settle the discrepancy between the proposed minimum wage and what is called the living wage, or what a family of four needs to earn to cover their basic expenses. The latter differs across the province, ranging from $17/hr mid-Vancouver Island to more than $20/hr in Vancouver.
BC Federation of Labour president Irene Lanzinger said sheB次元官网网址檇 like to see the gap between the minimum and liveable wage shrink.
B次元官网网址淭hat is a discussion to be had after we get to $15,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not in favour of $15 for some and $14 for others because $15 gets you just above the poverty line.B次元官网网址�
She added she was pleased with the NDPB次元官网网址檚 announcement, though she wished the changes were happening faster.
Meanwhile, the head of Surrey Board of Trade said the increase wonB次元官网网址檛 be easy for small business owners.
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B次元官网网址淲e were originally advocates of a minimum wage increase when the Liberals were in power because weB次元官网网址檙e the lowest minimum wage in Canada as a province and we have the highest child poverty rate in Canada,B次元官网网址� Anita Huberman said.
B次元官网网址淲e were, as a business organization, very different, supporting a minimum wage increase. But the move towards a $15 minimum wage, small business has to prepare now.B次元官网网址�
