This Saturday, the minimum wage increases in BC, but how far does that get minimum workers in the province, and how far is it from a living wage?
One group is calling for the minimum wage to be $20 per hour instead of this weekend’s increase to $17.40.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC (CCPA BC) says workers shouldn’t have to rely on charity to make ends meet.
- You might also like:
- BC's minimum wage is going up but it has "unintended consequences"
- Cost of living one of the main glitches in growth for Vancouver tech scene
- "Who tips to buy a beer?" Hundreds weigh in on awkward tipping experiences in a viral thread
According to Living Wage for Families BC, the living wage in Metro Vancouver is $25.68 per hour.
The organization says, “A living wage is the hourly amount a family needs to cover basic expenses.”
Those expenses include:
- Food
- Clothing
- Monthly rent
- Childcare
- Transportation
- Savings to cover illness or emergencies
The minimum wage increases to $17.40 per hour in BC, which is $8.28 less than Metro Vancouver’s living wage.
In 2022, BC’s minimum wage was $15.65 per hour, which increased by $1.10 in 2023 to $16.75 per hour. The increase between 2023 and 2024 is less, only $0.65.
“In the current affordability crisis, workers are stuck in the gap between the living wage and the minimum wage and face impossible choices—buy groceries or heat the house, keep up with bills or pay the rent on time,” said Anastasia French, Living Wage for Families BC provincial manager.
The CCPA pulled some data from Statistics Canada that paints a picture of the wage situation for many workers in BC.
Statistics Canada says that 413,100 workers earned less than $20 per hour last year, which is 18% of all workers in the province. The majority of those are women (59%) and are 25 or older (25%), “not teenagers and young adults as often claimed.”
CCPA BC also says that the provincial minimum wage is lower than even the lowest living wage city in BC, Dawson Creek, at $20.64 per hour.
“The government needs to look at what it can do to both lift wages and make life more
affordable for people so that we can close the gap between the minimum and the living wage,” French added.
“Hundreds of thousands of people will continue to earn less than a living wage even after the minimum wage increase,” said Iglika Ivanova, CCPA-BC senior economist who analyzed the Statistics Canada data, in a statement.
“The statistics clearly show who these workers are: the majority are over the age of 25, with
women and racialized workers disproportionately affected.”
The CCPA adds, “The BC government should raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour to narrow the gap between the minimum wage and the living wage, benefitting over 400,000 people of all ages, working in every region of the province. A $20 minimum wage would also
help to reduce BC’s large gender and racial pay inequities.”
Meanwhile, other groups are upset about the minimum wage increase because of the potential negative impacts on businesses.
Does the minimum wage increase help you out? Or are you a business owner who feels like it impacts you negatively? Let us know in the comments.
Follow Channels and Categories