Advertisement

The minimum wage is going up 50 cents. Neither businesses nor anti-poverty advocates are happy

John Gushue/CBC
John Gushue/CBC

As of Oct. 1, Newfoundland and Labrador's minimum wage rises 50 cents to $12.15 an hour.

But neither an organization advocating for wage increases nor a business lobby group are happy with the bump, although for very different reasons.

For a full-time minimum wage earner working 40 hours a week, the raise means an extra $40 bi-weekly, before taxes.

"This is still a poverty-level minimum wage," said Mark Nichols, an organizer with the lobby group Fight for $15 and Fairness. "I still have the overwhelming sense of this being the government throwing a few coppers the way of the poor, because in real terms, it's not making a difference."

Similarly, the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers' Council criticized the bump as being an "arbitrary" number, and one not tied to economic indicators like the consumer price index, which measures how much certain goods and services cost Canadians over time.

The head of the council said the increase also comes as COVID-19 has stressed businesses in the province, and around the world, to the limit.

"It's a very desperate time," said Richard Alexander, the executive director of the council, which includes some of the province's biggest businesses in its membership.

"It's just a really unfortunate time to implement such a drastic increase in costs when we want those businesses to survive."

Bruce Tilley/CBC
Bruce Tilley/CBC

Thursday's change is the second of four minimum wage increases that the province announced in February, prior to the pandemic.

The next increase, set for April 1, 2021, will add on another 25 cents as well as what CPI is at that time. There will then be a fourth and final increase of 25 cents on Oct. 1, 2021.

Nichols also noted the absence of looking at real-world indicators of the cost of living into the increase. His group wants to see the minimum wage raised to $15 an hour and then tied to CPI or another such indicator to align minimum wage more closely to a living wage — and he said to help those living in poverty, it needs to happen immediately.

"The longer we take to get there, the more meaningless that number becomes. We have to get to that sooner rather than later," he said.

Service economy hit hard in pandemic

The bulk of minimum wage workers are employed in sectors like retail and hospitality, two areas that COVID-19 hit particularly hard and where recovery has been slow.

Just because restaurants are serving diners and people are drinking at bars doesn't mean those businesses are back on their feet, said Alexander.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. A lot of them are operating at reduced capacity. Their facilities aren't designed to operate at reduced capacity," he said, adding even with federal subsidy programs, it's been tough.

"They're still hemorrhaging money. They're still having challenges paying their bills."

Nichols agreed that the wage increase doesn't please already-stressed businesses, but at the same time it doesn't help those earning the least, many of whom are younger people the province is struggling to retain.

General minimum wage in Ontario is set to increase to $14.25 an hour Oct. 1, while Alberta's stands at $15 and British Columbia's at $14.60.

"Why would they stay in a province with less economic opportunities than Ontario, Alberta, B.C., when even if they work for minimum wage, they'd be making much more than they're making here?" said Nichols.

Bruce Tilley/CBC
Bruce Tilley/CBC

N.L.'s 50-cent jump, up from $11.65, still puts the province in the bottom rungs of Canadian wages. Only Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba have lower rates.

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador