N.L.'s minimum wage is set to go up April 1. Critics say it still won't be enough to make ends meet

Newfoundland and Labrador's minimum wage is scheduled to be bumped up to $15.60 on April 1 but one retail worker doesn't expect it to make a big difference to the cost of living crisis. (CBC)

Kelsey Clarke, 28, works two part-time retail jobs in St. John's that pay minimum wage. Because her hours can vary week to week, there are months when she brings home only $1,500 and struggles to cover her expenses.

And while the province's minimum wage is set to increase to $15.60 an hour on April 1, Clarke says it's getting more difficult to make ends meet and she doesn't think the small hike will do much to help.

"It's getting harder and harder, and it's a little sad that we have to struggle so much when minimum wage was originally supposed to be the minimum for a single person to support themselves," Clarke told CBC News.

When the minimum wage increases by 60 cents next week, she says, she says the rising cost of living and other price increases — like an increase to the federal carbon tax, which takes effect the same day — will negate that gain.

"The second minimum wage goes up, companies are mad because they have to pay their employees more. So they're like, 'Well, I'll raise my prices so it covers that cost,'" said Clarke.

She said she's fortunate her husband makes more than minimum wage but there have been times she's had to look to her parents to help cover expenses.

Recommended hike to $20

Last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives research institute published a list of recommendations for supporting minimum wage workers in N.L. that included raising the minimum wage to $20 by 2027.

"Minimum wage is one of the most powerful tools we have in the labour market for addressing inequality," said Russell Williams, an associate political science professor at Memorial University and co-author of the recommendations.

"We really think we need to close that gap. Low-income households have really been hit hard by inflation over the last few years.

"It hits low-income households particularly hard because they spend a higher share of their income on shelter and groceries. And so we need labour market policies that kind of respond to that reality."

The institute also recommends adopting a minimum wage formula that reflects the cost of living and creating a permanent fair wages commission.

Memorial University political science professor Russell Williams says the provincial government needs to look at the financial strain people are struggling with as it calculates the minimum wage. (Terry Roberts/CBC)

He added the government's process for determining minimum wage — which he said involves asking people their opinion, including asking employers what they would be willing to pay — is based on out-of-date ideas about who earns minimum wage.

According to Statistics Canada, about 16,300 people, representing 7.6 per cent of all employees in the province, earned a maximum of $15 an hour at their main job. Many of them are women and visible minorities, said Williams.

"It's not teenagers living at home. In many cases it's people that have teenagers that are living at home that are falling into this kind of income category," said Williams.

Clarke has heard people say that if minimum-wage workers wanted to earn more, they should have gotten an education. But her work requires skill, she said, and often involves difficult tasks like carrying heavy boxes.

"That kind of hurts my feelings because I'm here to serve you as a customer. How are you supposed to get your goods if no one is here to do this?" she said.

Kelsey Clarke says despite working two jobs, she still has trouble making ends meet. (Submitted by Kelsey Clarke)

Clarke added she did get a post-secondary education to be a hair stylist and nail technician but had trouble developing a steady clientele.

"So I ended up in like a couple of retail jobs just because, you know, you got to do something, otherwise you're out on the street."

Living wage vs. minimum wage

Williams says there's a gap between the minimum wage and what's known as a living wage — a wage that would cover household expenses like rent, groceries, child care and transportation.

In December, the institute released a breakdown of what it calulated a living wage should be by region, putting eastern Newfoundland at $24.20 per hour.

Clarke says the rising cost of living is scary and she doesn't have much hope it will be get better any time soon — even raising it to $20 wouldn't be enough, she said.

"If I was a single person in the city right now, to pay rent, to buy groceries, to pay my light bill, I wouldn't be able to do it," she said.

"I don't know how some people do it."

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