A local business owner is questioning the NDP government’s commitment to raising the minimum wage despite the current economic climate.
Earlier this month, the Minister of Labour Christina Gray announced that she would be undertaking consultations with stakeholders on how to move forward with changes to minimum wage.
Over the month of June, the minister will meet with employers, social service organizations and low-income earners from across the country to discuss the size and pace of future increases, as well as specific feedback on the liquor differential and meal and lodging deductions. (The province began to close liquor differential last year and plans to eliminate it this year.)
“We want to talk with people and consult with people, but around how to meet our minimum wage goal,” she said.
This “line in the sand” language worries McDonald’s franchisee Rob Chiasson.
“When the government made their commitment to a $15 minimum wage we were in a very different economy,” he said.
Chiasson said he’s not against higher wages for low-income earners, but that lower consumer confidence and disposable income are already making it hard for employers to maintain hours. Higher labour costs could exacerbate the problem.
He urged the government to study the impacts on business more thoroughly, citing research that shows a drastic spike in minimum wage results in a reduction in hours.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimates that Alberta’s $15 per hour hike would put 51,700 to 200,690 jobs at risk.
A provincial government briefing note obtained by the advocacy group, indicates that job losses are a “realistic possibility.” However, the document highlights that a body of literature negating the effects of minimum wage increases on employment levels also exists.
A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study found the effects of a $15 per hour minimum wage in B.C. would result in less than a one per cent reduction in the province’s employment rate.
The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce was disappointed it was not invited to participate in the consultations.
CEO Lynda Moffat says businesses have been all but ignored on this issue and expects that the format of the consultations will further dilute their concerns.
Gray said it’s critical to consult with all stakeholders, including minimum wage workers. “We’re trying to do what we can to make sure they have a spot at the table too because it impacts their quality of life,” she said.
Chiasson, who will be taking part in the consultation June 9, plans to float the idea of a youth differential – where younger workers start at a different minimum wage than an older individual, who is more likely to rely on a minimum wage job as the primary or secondary source of household income.
A hike in the minimum wage could have unintended consequences, such as fewer opportunities for youth to access entry-level jobs, said Chiasson.
“Should we not at least be talking about why this works in other provinces and why it couldn’t work here?” he said.
Ontario employs a student minimum wage of 10.55 per hour, about $0.70 less than the general minimum wage. B.C. had what it called a training wage of $6 per hour for the first 500 hours of total paid employment, but it was eliminated in 2011 when Premier Christy Clark took power.
This month’s chamber event featuring a presentation on minimum wage has been rescheduled to Monday, July 26 to accommodate Minister Gray’s consultation schedule.
Minimum wage facts
• Approximately 59,000 Albertans earn minimum wage. <br />• The majority of minimum-wage earners (61 per cent) are female. <br />• Approximately 43 per cent of minimum-wage earners work full time, and nearly 77 per cent have permanent jobs.
