News & Events
A decent living does not come from $7.75 an hour
October 15, 2008, The Daily Gleaner
Re: Minimum wage
In September the British Columbia Hospital Employees Union (CUPE) kicked off a campaign for something called a living wage.
The Canadian people and politicians need to support just such a social goal - that of a living wage versus a minimum wage.
Research done for B.C. showed families there need $16.74 an hour to adequately support their families. The calculation was created by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
New Brunswick's minimum wage ($7.75/hour before deductions) just does not cut it here either.
Think about your fixed costs - $7.75 is clearly not nearly enough to provide the basics like clothing, food, heat and rent, let alone child care while at work.
Canada needs to change. We need a national system of affordable day care, similar to Quebec's. We need and deserve a living wage. It is fundamental to the struggle for the elimination of child poverty.
The results of the absence of such a social policy goal can be clearly seen here, have the same effect on the working poor throughout Canada and produce the same resulting struggles and injustices.
People are struggling here as in B.C. and throughout the country. Some are working two and even three jobs up to 12 hours per day, sometimes seven days per week, just to make ends meet.
Minimum wages are not working. We need a new standard - that of a living wage.
Thomas R. Steep
Durham Bridge N.B.
-30-
Source: http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/448558
