In 2017, the City of Vancouver officially became a certified Living Wage employer. Now, the City seems to be walking back its promise to pay a living wage.
According to OneCity Councillor Christine Boyle, City Council voted to end the policy in a private meeting.
The City confirmed this, telling Daily Hive that “the living wage rate for Metro Vancouver set by Living Wage for Families BC (LWFBC) increased 17.35% or to $24.08 per hour for 2023.”
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The Living Wage rate is calculated annually, and fluctuates greatly.
“This is difficult to administer in large organizations, particularly those with multi-year collective agreements like the City,” the City said.
“Due to the immediate impact the new Living Wage rate would have on the pay structure for the rest of the City and the possibility the rate may be reduced in future years, Council made the decision to implement a fair wage approach based on a five-year rolling average of the Living Wage rate.”
“We will continue to use the rate set by Living Wage for Families BC by implementing a five-year rolling average, which will smooth out annual fluctuations,” they said.
Vancouver City Council voted to end its status as a @LWforfamilies employer. I voted to keep it.
People who work for the City of Vancouver should be able to afford to live here. That’s what a #LivingWage means. @OneCityVan stands behind it.
TAKE ACTION: https://t.co/W8W0PHvuLX pic.twitter.com/yxL0YsxSTn
— Christine Boyle (@christineeboyle) March 2, 2023
In a statement, Boyle said the decision was “unacceptable.”
“It gets more expensive to live in this city every day,” said Boyle. “We should be figuring out how to pay working people enough to live here, not making it harder and harder for them to make ends meet.
“I am incredibly disappointed that a majority of councillors voted to end our Living Wage Policy.”
“As a result of this decision, the City will no longer be required to pay employees in roles like security and maintenance enough to live in Vancouver,” said OneCity.
The change could affect contractors the most, as many City employees are unionized.
According to Living Wage for Families BC, a living wage is defined as the hourly rate a family requires to cover basic expenses like housing, food, transportation, and childcare.
Anastasia French, Provincial Manager of Living Wage for Families BC said in a release that “it is incredibly disappointing that the City of Vancouver has dropped its commitment to paying their staff and contracted workers the Living Wage.”
“We are disappointed that they made this decision behind closed doors, with no option for the public to input and share their views on the importance of earning a Living Wage.”
Per Living Wage for Families BC, the City of Vancouver’s change “will mean that workers and contractors will… earn at least $20.90 an hour,” which falls short of the current $24.08 an hour living wage, per the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
You can sign a petition online to help protect Vancouver’s living wage.
Daily Hive has reached out to the City of Vancouver for more and will update this story.
With files from Daily Hive Staff
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