B.C.’s minimum wage to reach US$8.60 per hour in September
Labour leaders say the wage hike isn’t enough tp help lift low-wage workers out of poverty
The minimum wage in British Columbia, Canada will increase by 50 Canadian cents to C$11.35 (US$8.60) an hour, effective September 15, 2017, the provincial government announced February 27.
This amount is 10 cents higher than the C$11.25 (US$8.53)-per-hour minimum wage the B.C. government had in May 2016 said would go into effect in September of this year. In a news release, the government said the new rate includes a 20-cent increase tied to inflation plus an additional 30 cents; the government’s original plan had called for a 10-cent inflation-related bump.
Liquor servers will also see their minimum wages increase by 50 cents per hour, to C$10.10 US$7.66.
Irene Lanzinger, president of the BC Federation of Labour, said the 10-cent-per-hour bump won’t go far to help lift low-wage workers out of poverty.
“The increase allows the Liberals to pretend they’re doing something about poverty, when they’re really not,” Lanzinger said.
“What we really need from government is a concrete plan to address poverty, low wages and rampant inequality in B.C.”
