-Vintage Canuck- Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Quote The B.C. NDP is following up on the previous government's promise to increase the minimum wage by 50 cents to $11.35 per hour, effective Sept. 15, 2017. Labour Minister Harry Bains made the announcement Tuesday. "The 50 cents increase was a commitment made by the previous government that we as the new government will honour and legally implement, thereby creating a stepping stone towards our $15-an-hour goal," said Bains. The liquor servers' wage will also rise by 50 cents to $10.10 per hour, while other minimum wage provisions will receive increases of 4.6 per cent. Barring changes from any other provinces, this increase will give B.C. the third highest minimum wage among the provinces, moving up from seventh. Canada's highest minimum wage is held by Nunavut at $13, while the lowest is Saskatchewan at $10.72. In a statement, Premier John Horgan said the increase is long overdue. "British Columbia's lowest-paid workers need a raise," said Horgan. "The action we're taking will make life better for working parents, seniors, new Canadians, students and more — these are people struggling to get by." Bains says the NDP government still plans to meet its campaign promise of raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2021. Alberta has promised to raise its minimum wage to $15 by October 2018, while Ontario plans to follow suit in January 2019. B.C. Federation of Labour president, Irene Lanzinger says the NDP's 2021 deadline is too late and insists the province should keep up with Alberta and Ontario. "$11.35 will not lift a single worker out of poverty. Hundreds of thousands of workers will still be working full time and living in poverty, said Lanzinger. "We really need to get to 15, because that is the wage that gets you just slightly above the poverty line. And then we need to talk about how we actually have a minimum wage that is a living wage." Fair wages commission Bains says a fair wages commission will meet in a couple weeks and embark on a consultation process with stakeholders to determine how the wage will incrementally increase to $15. "We've listened to business owners, who have told us gradual, predictable increases are the way to go to minimize the impact on their businesses," said Bains. The B.C. Liberal government had said previously it would tie the increase in the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index. Bains says the commission is expected to report back on its decision by late December or early January. The government of B.C. says there were 93,800 people who earned minimum wage in the province in 2016, 54 per cent of whom were youths aged 15 to 24. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-minimum-wage-september-2017-1.4248636 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerrDrFunk Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Sounds like commie talk to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Clark had already announced an increase back in February if I recall. It's spread out over 4 years. If businesses cannot adjust to this over 4 years and use it as a scapegoat for failure or lack of growth over that duration it's kind of sad and indicative of the long term success of that business anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HI5 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Yes! More 0.37 cant hamburgers for me tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glory_Days Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 What is this?! A welfare state! Bah and humbug! How dare the serfs hard working people...get fair compensation for their work, go back to Soviet Russia! Viva la Capitalism!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Considering business is doing everything it can to avoid rules, and other short cuts, and loopholes. Asking for a living wage is too much right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffy05 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 At least this is modest as opposed to the nightmare my Ontario government is threatening to unleash on us, raising it 32% in essentially a single shot up to $15/hour from around $11.40... except in the article it appears BC wants to follow suit. Yeesh. I am ok with the BC plan. The Ontario plan is rampant foolishness. I get the argument that you cannot buy a house and raise kids and live the dream on minimum wage but, here's the thing... you aren't supposed to! You want to make more? Take the steps you need to to get a better career. If any random person can do what you do then you have absolutely no leverage. I do agree with tying the minimum wage to inflation however. You don't raise standards of living and real wages by just forcing businesses to pay more, all you do then is erode the middle class and the people above who worked hard to get there. You do it by creating more work opportunities, which creates more competition for workers which raises wages through supply and demand. I can think of a ton of jobs that aren't even worth what the current minimum wage is set at. I can think of a ton of positions, like many cashiers, where it would be cheaper and easier if they were not there. I use self-checkout lanes 75% of the time, especially if I have just a few items. They are just so much faster. Minimum wage is for unskilled labour- labour that anybody can do and, more and more, any thing can do. Boop the item, put it in the bag. Boop the item, put it in the bag. Occasionally I will come across one who is pleasant and personable and I understand their purpose as they provide measurable customer service- they are an ambassador for the store and I am likely to retain more memories of a better experience had there over other places... usually though they won't even look at you and I recently had one that 'told' me my total by spinning the register screen and pointing. I would have had a more enjoyable experience with a machine. Raising the minimum wage too much will cause more self-checkout lanes. They have a machine that can cook and assemble a hamburger at least as well and as accurately as a kid in the back, it just hasn't been economically feasible... yet. In Ontario some people worked hard, received promotions and fought their way up to $15/hour only to find out that they are going to be minimum wage again... oh and everything costs at least a little bit more now as well. It`s like running a race on a treadmill- a lot of effort but you never seem to go anywhere. 10% of the population out here makes minimum wage. That's it, only 10%. 33% makes that $15 or less an hour number they want to raise it to. Essentially the Ontario plan places a full 1/3 of the population out here on minimum wage. Instead of forcing employers to pay more for know-nothing work that adds little to no value to anything, why don't we start putting this money into training in the trades... and while we are at it let's stop denigrating the trades! Plumbing might be a crappy job but it pays well and if you are good at it you are worth more. Same with carpentry, welding, et al. Useful skills that can be taught and then people can have said skills and a job they can be proud of that actually provide value to society and pays really well! Before I get called a right wing blowhard I am usually labelled a pinko commie because I believe in universal health care and that most essential services (power, water, infrastructure) should be at least government owned (owned by the people) if not government run. Really I am just a centrist in a world where the two sides are drifting further and further apart and I am losing common ground footing. /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 8 hours ago, Warhippy said: Clark had already announced an increase back in February if I recall. It's spread out over 4 years. If businesses cannot adjust to this over 4 years and use it as a scapegoat for failure or lack of growth over that duration it's kind of sad and indicative of the long term success of that business anyways you mean the 'evil one' did something good? huh. IMO its not nearly high enough, it should be between $17-20. I've looked at the reviews of the Aussie system and comp's btw this and guaranteed income systems and a high minimum wage makes a great deal of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 3 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: you mean the 'evil one' did something good? huh. IMO its not nearly high enough, it should be between $17-20. I've looked at the reviews of the Aussie system and comp's btw this and guaranteed income systems and a high minimum wage makes a great deal of sense. I agree, although maybe not quite to that extent. I'd like to see it hit $15, maybe in a couple of jumps. ($13 now and $15 in a couple of years) There's some pretty solid evidence out there that suggests when you put more money in the pockets of minimum wage earners, it gets injected back into the economy rather quickly. These people aren't putting their extra cash into GICs, or offshore accounts, they're dropping it at The Gap, or Best Buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Just now, RUPERTKBD said: I agree, although maybe not quite to that extent. I'd like to see it hit $15, maybe in a couple of jumps. ($13 now and $15 in a couple of years) There's some pretty solid evidence out there that suggests when you put more money in the pockets of minimum wage earners, it gets injected back into the economy rather quickly. These people aren't putting their extra cash into GICs, or offshore accounts, they're dropping it at The Gap, or Best Buy. Bingo, have seen the same thing. Its also earned through work, not as a guaranteed check which is also better for the economy. The reason I want to see 17-20 is that at that level it actually starts to raise a lot of kids out of poverty and reduces the need for other system costs, and all the benefits to society that come from that. It just makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUPERTKBD Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 5 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: Bingo, have seen the same thing. Its also earned through work, not as a guaranteed check which is also better for the economy. The reason I want to see 17-20 is that at that level it actually starts to raise a lot of kids out of poverty and reduces the need for other system costs, and all the benefits to society that come from that. It just makes sense. I'd like to see that as well, but I think a 50% wage increase all at once would be a pretty tough burden on some businesses. Certainly, I'd like to see it get to that level, but it would have to be spread out over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 11 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: Bingo, have seen the same thing. Its also earned through work, not as a guaranteed check which is also better for the economy. The reason I want to see 17-20 is that at that level it actually starts to raise a lot of kids out of poverty and reduces the need for other system costs, and all the benefits to society that come from that. It just makes sense. If minimum wage jobs paid 20 dollars/ hour, wouldn't that detract from the number of available workers in trained jobs that pay a similar wage? There are a lot of jobs, that require specific training and eduction that pay that wage - People working in care homes for example. Why put out 20,000 dollars to educate and train yourself for a 20 dollar./ hour job, when the minimum wage jobs, requiring no post secondary costs pay the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Money Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 7 minutes ago, Alflives said: If minimum wage jobs paid 20 dollars/ hour, wouldn't that detract from the number of available workers in trained jobs that pay a similar wage? There are a lot of jobs, that require specific training and eduction that pay that wage - People working in care homes for example. Why put out 20,000 dollars to educate and train yourself for a 20 dollar./ hour job, when the minimum wage jobs, requiring no post secondary costs pay the same? ...Which in turn forces those businesses to offer a more competitive wage. Eventually the prices go up too though to balance all this, so inflation lessens the impact somewhat. But that is absorbed by all parties - including the wealthy, so it is a definite net benefit for lower income families. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 3 minutes ago, D-Money said: ...Which in turn forces those businesses to offer a more competitive wage. Eventually the prices go up too though to balance all this, so inflation lessens the impact somewhat. But that is absorbed by all parties - including the wealthy, so it is a definite net benefit for lower income families. So costs go up for the elderly, who need care in their decling years? It seems to me that increasing the minimum wage to 20 dollars would have a negative ripple affect across our society, that especially hurts those on fixed incomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 22 minutes ago, Alflives said: If minimum wage jobs paid 20 dollars/ hour, wouldn't that detract from the number of available workers in trained jobs that pay a similar wage? There are a lot of jobs, that require specific training and eduction that pay that wage - People working in care homes for example. Why put out 20,000 dollars to educate and train yourself for a 20 dollar./ hour job, when the minimum wage jobs, requiring no post secondary costs pay the same? that was one of the fears in Australia but it doesn't work out that way. Wages are competitive and go up yes, but people can and do adjust. There's also a lot more buying power for poorer folks so its a net benefit. Depending on the industry its also not that big a deal, or a really huge deal, but its not an equal effect across the board. Restaurants get hit the worst, so yah you'll pay $5 more for dinner but its worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 8 minutes ago, Alflives said: So costs go up for the elderly, who need care in their decling years? It seems to me that increasing the minimum wage to 20 dollars would have a negative ripple affect across our society, that especially hurts those on fixed incomes. yes, but there's also more tax revenue to offset costs for groups like this who need affordable care costs, e.g.,. It has to be done carefully but it can work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 4 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: that was one of the fears in Australia but it doesn't work out that way. Wages are competitive and go up yes, but people can and do adjust. There's also a lot more buying power for poorer folks so its a net benefit. Depending on the industry its also not that big a deal, or a really huge deal, but its not an equal effect across the board. Restaurants get hit the worst, so yah you'll pay $5 more for dinner but its worth it. If it will work, it's a good thing. what about inflation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Just now, Alflives said: If it will work, it's a good thing. what about inflation? went down in Australia since they did it, not sure what else they were doing or how other things like natural gas, etc. played into it. My idiot brother runs a business down unda so I hear about this stuff a lot. He claims even with the high wage its still really hard to find good employees but at least people can live decently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 1 hour ago, RUPERTKBD said: I agree, although maybe not quite to that extent. I'd like to see it hit $15, maybe in a couple of jumps. ($13 now and $15 in a couple of years) There's some pretty solid evidence out there that suggests when you put more money in the pockets of minimum wage earners, it gets injected back into the economy rather quickly. These people aren't putting their extra cash into GICs, or offshore accounts, they're dropping it at The Gap, or Best Buy. How responsible. lets give people more money so they can buy sweatshop $&!# they don't need. Yeah. Forget about the kid earning .15$/day..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alflives Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 23 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said: went down in Australia since they did it, not sure what else they were doing or how other things like natural gas, etc. played into it. My idiot brother runs a business down unda so I hear about this stuff a lot. He claims even with the high wage its still really hard to find good employees but at least people can live decently. A 20 dollar minimum wage sure would help people in our bigger urban areas, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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