The April 1 increase in the federal minimum wage has caused definite concern among White Rock and South Surrey businesses struggling with the current labour shortage and costs rising for all aspects of doing business.
That’s the message from Ritu Khanna, executive director of the South Surrey-White Rock Chamber of Commerce, who said that such concerns demonstrate why different levels of government in Canada should be speaking directly with business owners.
The April 18 chamber-sponsored business round table with White Rock Mayor Megan Knight and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke – which also discussed significant concerns about the need for better transit for commuting employees and increased threats to safety of businesses from abuse and vandalism – was a case in point, Khanna said.
And it will be the kind of conversation that the chamber will continue to promote, going forward, she said.
“Part of the function of the chamber is to be a convenor – to bring different levels of government together in the community to have that kind of dialogue,” she said.
“It makes a huge difference because people are getting information nowadays through social media that is so skewed – it’s better to have your questions answered directly.”
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The increase in the federal minimum wage, which rose to $16.65 per hour on April 1 – $1 per hour above the previous B.C. minimum of $15.65 – has impacted local companies, she said.
On June 1, the B.C. minimum wage will rise to $16.75.
“What we’re hearing from businesses is that the cost of doing business is increasing – and the rise in the minimum wage is only adding to the situation,” Khanna said, adding that many businesses, faced with sharp increases for products, materials and supplies, have been placed in the position of piling more work on fewer employees.
“Of course we want to make sure that people are being paid fairly and equitably,” she said. “But it’s a complex situation – it’s not as simple as just increasing the minimum wage.”
Khanna said that employees who have been in the work force for a long period of time likely shouldn’t be receiving a minimum wage, while a minimum wage rate makes sense for employees just coming into the work force.
“Perhaps we should actually be looking at a tiered approach in which the minimum rate is different depending on what level of experience they have,” she said.
“Increasing the minimum wage doesn’t mean businesses are able to increase the payroll,” she said. “They’re already finding it hard to hire new people.”
“That means that business owners are having to put in their own time to do the work – rather than running their businesses, they’re struggling to fill gaps,” she added.
“The timing is bad for businesses that haven’t yet recovered from the pandemic, with the labour shortage as it is.”
alex.browne@peacearchnews.com
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