More than 147,600 minimum wage workers in BC have been given a wage increase, effective today (June 1).
The general hourly minimum wage is increasing to $14.60, and the rates for liquor servers, resident caretakers and live-in camp leaders are also increasing.
“This is great news for hundreds of thousands of British Columbians,” said BC Federation of Labour president Laird Cronk.
In his opinion, the increase ‘could not have come at a better time.’
“We’ve relied on the lowest-paid workers to do some of our most essential work throughout this pandemic,” he said.
The BC minimum wage is scheduled to increase again to $15.20 in June 2021.
Effective today:
* General minimum wage increases 5.4% to $14.60, an increase of $0.75 per hour.
* Liquor server minimum wage increases 9.8% to $13.95 , an increase of $1.25 per hour.
* Resident caretaker minimum wage, per month, increases 5.4% to $876.35 for those who manage nine to 60 units (an increase of $35.12/unit), or $2,985.04 for 61 or more units.
* Live-in camp leader minimum wage, per day, increases 5.4% to $116.86.
“We had the lowest minimum wage in the country, and froze low-income workers out of the boom times,” Cronk observed. “They’ve borne the brunt of the past several months, and this is a welcome boost for them.”
“I know the government was facing some pressure from the usual suspects to break their promise to low-income earners,” Cronk said. “I’m glad they’re keeping their word and making life a little better for people.”
These increases for low-wage workers are the third of four planned increases scheduled to take place on June 1 of each year since 2018.
“Minimum wage workers struggle to make ends meet in one of the country’s most expensive provinces.” said senior economist Iglika Ivanova, with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
“Even with today’s increase, the minimum wage remains far below a living wage in BC,” she added.
The increases are the result of recommendations from the independent Fair Wages Commission, established in 2017, to advise the government on an approach to raising provincial minimum wages.