BC further increasing minimum wage
Posted May 4, 2016 11:29 am.
Last Updated May 4, 2016 2:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Some good news for anyone who makes minimum wage in BC — the rate is going up to $11.25 by next fall, but not everyone is happy with today’s announcement.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is blasting the increase, saying it will leave small business owners scrambling to afford the jump in pay to their employees.
“It’s disappointing to see the government so quickly abandon their own indexation policy that was meant to create certainty and depoliticize the process. Business owners with entry-level jobs were clearly expecting a more modest, predictable increase this fall according to the formula set by the provincial government just one year ago,” says Richard Truscott, CFIB Vice-President in BC and Alberta.
The hike is happening in two phases: a $0.40 increase this September to $10.85 and then another bump to $11.25 by the following fall.
Premier Christy Clark is giving herself a pat on the back for all this. “It means about $1,400 more in your pocket if you have a full-time minimum wage job. That will add up to then the sixth separate minimum wage increase since I became premier.”
The NDP’s Labour Critic Shane Simpson says the Liberals were shamed into raising the minimum wage after dropping to the lowest in Canada last month.
