The Surrey Board of Trade says a 6.9 per cent increase to B.C.’s minimum wage is “unsustainable” for businesses.
Today – Thursday, June 1 – the new $16.75 per hour minimum wage takes effect, rising from $15.65.
“We reiterate our statement to say that the Surrey Board of Trade is disappointed that such a significant minimum wage increase is being implemented today on June 1st, leading to further unsustainable cost increases for businesses,” Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, stated in a press release issued Thursday.
“It is imperative that the B.C. government focus on reducing costs to businesses by committing to convening a commission to review taxes and red tape impacting businesses.”
In a provincial government bulletin, Minister of Labour Harry Bains stated that ensuring the minimum wage keeps up with inflation is a “key step to prevent the lowest paid workers from falling behind.
“These workers and their families feel the impacts of high costs much more than anyone else. We are maintaining our policy of tying the minimum wage to inflation,” Bains, also MLA for Surrey-Newton, added.
READ ALSO OUR VIEW: Minimum wage still minute
Jim Stanford, director of Centre for Future Work, maintains in that same government bulletin that elevating the minimum wage “is a necessary response to inflation.
“The inflation we are experiencing now in B.C. is driven by profits, not wages,” he said. “It is unfair to expect the most vulnerable workers to give up some of their non-discretionary income because of record high inflation. By ensuring fairer compensation for our lowest-paid workers, we will reduce inequality and foster a more inclusive society.”
The Ministry of Labour bulletin states the June 1 increase will “positively affect” roughly 150,000 workers, many of them food service staff, grocery store workers, retail workers and “others who were essential workers during the pandemic.”
Meantime, the federal government increased the minimum wage for federally regulated employees to $16.65 from $15.55 on April 1.
B.C.’s minimum wage increase is based on the province’s average 6.9 per cent inflation rate in 2022. Last year, the provincial government increased the minimum wage by 2.8 per cent in keeping with the increase in the cost of living in B.C. in 2021.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram and follow Tom on Twitter