Today, June 1, British Columbia鈥檚 minimum wage rises to $16.75 per hour from $15.65.

Many owners of businesses large and small will be wringing their hands worrying about how this will affect their bottom line, emphasis on their.

Their concern is not without merit. In an economy like this, where the cost of food, taxes, utility rates, mortgages, rent and gas and just about everything else is hit by rising inflation, so-called 鈥榮hrink-flation,鈥� and price-gouging, almost everyone is feeling not just a pinch but a harsh squeeze. If it were not for businesses, people who aren鈥檛 self-employed wouldn鈥檛 have jobs, even if those jobs pay only $16.75 鈥� hardly anything near a live-able wage. On the flip side, if people aren鈥檛 adequately paid for their time and labour, businesses will experience difficulty recruiting and keeping employees.

According to a government bulletin, this latest wage increase of 6.9 per cent reflects B.C.鈥檚 inflation rate for 2022 and will 鈥減ositively affect鈥� some 150,000 workers in this province. On June 1, 2018, it was $12.65 per hour. The NDP should be commended for raising the minimum wage to help low-paid workers in their financial struggle to survive.

That said, people working for minimum wage should also be commended for choosing to work rather than simply turning to the dole. Living Wage for Families BC sets a 鈥榣iving wage鈥� in Metro Vancouver at $24.08 鈥� that鈥檚 for two full-time working adults to be able to meet basic needs for a family of four.

鈥淗aving a minimum wage that keeps up with inflation is a key step to prevent the lowest paid workers from falling behind,鈥� reads a statement attributed to Minister of Labour Harry Bains, NDP MLA for 性视界传媒-Newton.

Key? More like a tiny step.

We鈥檙e all falling behind.

鈥� Now-Leader

edit@surreynowleader.com
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