CCPA’s Policy Note writes today about B.C.’s $8 minimum wage and the calls for it to be raised to $10:
At the BC NDP convention over the weekend, Carole James reiterated calls for a $10 an hour minimum wage. While $10 an hour would certainly be better than the current $8 an hour (lowest in the country), I’m concerned that this campaign is stuck on a round number not what is adequate for improving the livelihoods of the working poor.
I agree with this concern, and not just because $10 an hour is not enough to support a family in Vancouver or in many other communities in B.C. (including the province’s many high expense rural and isolated communities). Before exploring other reasons why $10 is too low, here is more from Policy Note on why:
CCPA reports have argued in the past that the minimum wage should put someone working full-time, full-year at (and ideally, above) the poverty line (in this case Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off). The latest stats put the LICO in 2008 at $22,171 (before taxes) for a single person living in a city larger than 500,000 people. This translates into $10.66 an hour for someone working 40 hours per week, and $12.18 per hour for someone working 35 hours per week (based on 52 weeks, assuming some of this is paid vacation). . . . [This means that] the minimum wage should minimally be about $11 per hour, and in Metro Vancouver, closer to $15 per hour. I think I just heard some small business owners spray their coffee across their desks (sorry about that). But the reality is that lots of people making much more than that have difficulty making ends meet; the basic standard for paid work should a wage that allows the working poor not just to survive but participate in society.
A minimum wage of $15 an hour (or any level that’s actually above poverty) would make a substantial difference for child care workers, including daycare workers, preschool teachers, domestic workers and nannies, since many workers in these occupations are paid less than $15 an hour. It would also make a difference for other child care workers, including the unpaid child care workforce, and also those who are paid a living wage currently. This is because the minimum wage is about more than just wages. It’s also about power, respect and human rights security.
A fair minimum wage shifts power in the labour economy back to workers. This in turn protects the rights and interests of all B.C. workers. Wages of $8, or even $10 an hour, do not reflect the value of the work that low-wage workers provide, which results in a massive transfer of power and wealth up the profit chain. This transfer of power weakens efforts to extend protections to workers, improve working conditions for workers and ensure that everyone’s human rights are respected.
This not only gets in the way of creating a fair and equitable B.C., but it’s also bad for democracy by tipping the balance of power too much. As child care workers, we already know that our work is worth far more than the low wages paid for what we do. This gap between value of the work and what we’re paid means that we’re transferring the benefits of our work up the profit and power chain. This erodes our democracy in many ways, including by concentrating power to those at the top. Everyone benefits when this balance is not tipped in favour of a small number of people whose interests often conflict with the public interest, or the values of the community at large. Protecting low-wage workers and requiring that nobody work for poverty wages protects the interests of all workers.
Low wages are also part of an overall package of problems facing B.C. workers and families. This package includes poor enforcement of labour standards, lack of access to quality child care for all families, lack of robust social security across the entire life span, lack of universal access to public dental care and phramacare, and inadequate unemployment insurance for many workers. All these factors combine with the pushing down of wages to create a more vulnerable and less powerful workforce.
The minimum wage should be part of how we ensure fairness in the labour market. It should be part of how we eliminate poverty in B.C., part of how we defend labour power, and part of how we advance the dignity of workers. We should demand a living wage that is above poverty, protects workers, expands the social economy and respects human rights.
