The B.C. Federation of Labour’s campaign to raise the minimum wage in the province to $15 an hour came to Sechelt last week with a petition campaign on Cowrie Street.
“We’re hoping to gather a bit of momentum and come back for a proper rally on the 15th of February, and the location is yet to be determined,” organizer Fraser Shortt said while collecting signatures from passersby.
Coinciding with rallies on the Lower Mainland and Victoria, the “Fight for $15” campaign’s goal is to push the provincial government to raise the minimum hourly wage from $10.25 to $15 in 2015. Events are planned for the 15th of the each month.
Shortt acknowledged the cost of living is more expensive in Vancouver, making the issue more critical there.
“But certainly even here on the Sunshine Coast, $10.25 an hour minimum wage doesn’t begin to adequately address people’s real cost of living,” he said. “So a raise to $15 across the board, across the province, is going to lift countless workers out of poverty.”
On the impact to small and medium-size businesses, he noted about 55 per cent of workers earning the minimum wage currently are employed by businesses that employ more than 500 people.
“I think it may have some effect on small businesses locally, especially those with one or two employees whose profit margins are not that high. I do think, however, that in general it’s a good idea, and I do think that those problems some small business owners may see will be lessened by things like increased consumer spending in their communities, improved employee retention and improved employee loyalty,” he said.
“Between those factors and innovation, I think most small business owners should be able to cope with a $15 an hour minimum wage.”
Responding to the campaign, B.C. Jobs Minister Shirley Bond said the government is not contemplating a $15 minimum wage at this time.
“I think we certainly recognize that there are challenges for those individuals earning minimum wage, but we’ve also seen the number of workers earning minimum wage between 2012 and 2013 drop in B.C.,” Bond said in a statement.
“It’s also important to realize that over half of those individuals earning minimum wage are youth, and of that number, half of those are at home with their parents.”
Bond said the government has raised the minimum wage three times since 2011 and continues to monitor inflation, youth employment levels, average wage rates and minimum wages in other jurisdictions.
She said she also regularly meets with business and labour to receive their input and advice on the issue.
