News: Labour federation wants minimum wage raised
Published by Patrick January 18th, 2007 in House of Labour, Make Poverty History, News / OpEd Tags: bc fed, Make Poverty History, news.
It’s time to raise the province’s $8 per hour minimum wage and eliminate the even lower $6 an hour training wage for new entrants to the labour force, says the B.C. Federation of Labour.
President Jim Sinclair wants the government to boost the base wage to $10 an hour.
“It’s time to share the gains of a strong economy,” he said.
Sinclair said a poll conducted last fall shows nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed support a $2 jump in the minimum wage, and 73.5 per cent agree it’s time to eliminate the training wage.
The $6 training level is applicable to the first 500 hours worked before the regular minimum wage kicks in.
Except for the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, B.C. already has the highest minimum wage in Canada.
Most minimum wage workers in Canada get an hourly rate of between $7 in Alberta and $7.75 in Ontario. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec are slated to raise their minimums to $8 this spring.
About six per cent of B.C. workers make minimum wage.
The federation’s call is getting support from some Lower Mainland mayors.
North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto said full-time workers should get enough to live above the poverty line.
“We hear a lot about labour shortages,” he said. “But clearly there’s a wage shortage for many minimum wage workers who perform vital services in many sectors of the economy. They deserve a raise.”
But Niels Veldhuis, a senior economist at the Fraser Institute, a right-wing think tank, says any increase would be a mistake.
“It may not actually benefit the people you’re trying to help,” he said, adding minimum wage hikes tend to reduce employment.
It may also deter students from pursuing better career paths.
“Minimum wage increases have been shown to increase school drop-out rates,” Veldhuis said. “You’re making it more attractive for young people to be employed.”
Most minimum wage earners live at home with parents or relatives and don’t depend on their service sector job to stay out of poverty, he added.
For those truly living below the poverty line, Veldhuis said broad tax reform would be a better solution.
In particular, he said, low-income people should be able to keep more of the additional money they earn, and not lose it to government assistance clawbacks.
source: MetroValley Newspaper Group, Jan 17 2007