UPDATED April 3, 2008
Press
Release in Response to the Recently Announced Increases to PEI's Minimum Wage
PEI Federation of Labour Happy With Minimum Wage Increase But
Disappointed that Livable Wage Still a Long Way Off
“The recently announced increases to PEI’s minimum wage are a step
forward for workers on PEI but only a small step.” States PEI
Federation of Labour President Carl Pursey
The increases of 25 cents an hour to $7.75 on May 1 and another 25
cents to $8 on Oct. 1. do not go near far enough to bring PEI in line
with the other provinces or to finally allow minimum wage earners the
ability to earn a wage that meets their basic needs.
As of May 1, 2008, PEI will still be tied for the lowest minimum wage
in Canada with New Brunswick and even after the increase in October we
will only move to tied for the second lowest in Canada tied with
British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador ahead of only New
Brunswick.
At 26.0% (translates to15,000 Islanders), PEI has the second
highest percentage of workers working for less than $10/ hr in Canada.
Because of this, the Provincial government needs to realize that our
minimum wage level has much greater impact on workers here than it does
in other provinces where average wages are higher.
It is especially disappointing that unlike many provincial governments
PEI hasn’t come up with a long term plan to determine where our minimum
wage is going. In such a prosperous country as Canada, it is
unimaginable that there is currently no province that has a minimum
wage above their province’s poverty line. But it is hopeful that so
many provinces in Canada are planning long term commitments to
increasing their minimum wages, we hope that our provincial government
will join them very shortly.
These Provinces include:
-
Ontario is increasing their minimum
wage by 75 cents per hour annually to reach $10.25/hr on March 31, 2010
-
Nova Scotia’s Minimum Wage Review
Committee recently recommended going to $9.65/hr (the expected Low
Income Cut Off for a city the size of Sydney and
Charlottetown) by October 1, 2010. The Committee also
recommends that from 2011 on, the minimum wage be adjusted annually
based on the Consumer Price Index.
-
Saskatchewan will going to
$9.25/hr by May 01, 2009.
-
Alberta’s minimum wage will be adjusted
annually every April based on Alberta's average weekly wage increases
-
The Yukon increases their minimum wage
on April 1 of each year, based on the annual increase for the preceding
year in the Consumer Price Index for the city of Whitehorse.
-
The Newfoundland and Labrador
government has begun a minimum wage review with a view to achieving a
minimum hourly wage of $10 per hour by 2010.
Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-offs (LICO’s) are the most commonly
used “poverty” indicator, and are based upon the relative proportion of
family income spent on food, clothing and shelter. They vary according
to family size and size of community. As we mentioned above the Nova
Scotia’s Minimum Wage Review Committee is expecting that the
Low Income Cut Off for a city the size of Charlottetown will be $
9.65/hr by 2010. With October’s raise, PEI is only 1 penny
above 2002's LICO. It is time for us to get out of this time warp.
While we realize that raising the minimum wage above the LICO is not
the magic pill that will totally eliminate poverty on PEI, it is
however a major part of the solution. If this government makes a strong
commitment towards increasing our minimum wage, maintaining and
expanding public services, protecting and ensuring the quality of our
public healthcare system, supporting the creation of a national
childcare system, and a national Pharmacare system, and ensuring all
Islanders can afford to take advantage of post-secondary educational
opportunities this government will go along way to ensuring the
prosperity of all Islanders for now and into the future.
“Therefore we ask this government to take a very serious look at the
recommendations of the Nova Scotia’s Minimum Wage Review Committee and
the work that the Newfoundland and Labrador government is doing in
reviewing its minimum wage and commit to coming up with a plan to raise
our minimum wage to at least $9.65/ hr as is recommended in Nova Scotia
or even better to $10/hr as the Newfoundland and Labrador government is
looking at. The time has come for this government to usher in an era
where all Islanders working full-time on PEI can earn a wage that at
the very least covers the basics of life.” concludes Pursey
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