| A minimum wage hike this year will still leave nearly 100,000 Calgarians below the poverty line, according to some researchers. The minimum wage will rise to $8 from $7 an hour next September and will be adjusted to keep pace with the average weekly wage every year after that.
"We’re definitely happy about it, but we definitely feel it’s not enough," says Gurbir Sandhu, centre director of the Calgary Workers’ Resources Centre, a non-profit organization funded by the United Way. "Eight dollars is not a living wage."
Given Calgary’s high cost of living, Sandhu and fellow researchers have calculated that it would take at least $12 an hour for most single people to earn a living wage, which is defined as an income that will meet expenses and ensure a reasonable standard of living. According to Statistics Canada figures, 94,400 people aged 15 or over made less than $12 an hour during the last six months of 2006.
At the centre, Sandhu frequently sees people who have jobs but can’t afford a place to live. "It shouldn’t be like that in a wealthy province," she says. "Workers who work hard deserve (decent pay)."
Most low-paying jobs are in the service sector and marginalized workers such as immigrants are highly represented. Many workers are putting in overtime hours without being paid overtime rates, she says. What’s more, some employers falsely advertise high wages to lure workers, says Sandhu. For instance, an employer might offer $12 an hour but stipulate that $4 of that wage is a "bonus," which can be taken away at any time.
"Even if they adjust (the new minimum wage) to inflation every year, I can’t see it reaching the living wage," she says. "We have higher inflation than any other community in Canada."
Calgary’s inflation rate is currently five per cent, and may be higher for low-income residents, because they likely don’t purchase luxury items that have become cheaper in recent years, says Jordan Hamilton, research policy analyst for Vibrant Communities Calgary, a non-profit group pushing for a living wage. He says that raising the minimum wage is commendable, but $12 an hour is the minimum necessary to meet living costs in Calgary. "Poverty limits participation in society," he says. "I hope the government continues to listen."
Hamilton is optimistic that wages will keep rising and says that it costs more to pay for poverty than it does to raise wages. "There are advantages to raising people out of poverty," he says. "It’s incredibly expensive to maintain the number of homeless people."
Lorelei Fiset-Cassidy, spokesperson for Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry, says that the minimum wage increase strikes the right balance between the desires of employers and workers. "What’s interesting is that it will be connected to what employers are willing to pay," she says. "It will help employers with their predictability."
Most minimum wage earners collect tips on top of their wages, she says. An increased minimum wage will ultimately help entice more workers – particularly younger ones – into the workforce, which will help small businesses.
Despite inflation, the new minimum wage will compare favourably to other provinces, says Fiset-Cassidy. "It will be the highest minimum wage after taxes. People’s disposable income will go further," she says. The government has other programs, such as the child health benefit, to help people struggling with the high cost of living, she says. |
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