On September 26, a week ahead of the first anniversary of the NDP’s provincial election win, Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) president Kevin Rebeck issued a public call for the Wab Kinew government to end poverty wages.
Specifically, the MFL wants the NDP to repeal the seven-year-old minimum wage law from the Conservative government of Brian Pallister and replace it with a plan to make Manitoba’s minimum wage a living wage. The provincial minimum wage is currently $15.80 per hour.
“No one should work full-time but still live in poverty, but that is the harsh reality for many minimum wage earners in Manitoba,” said Rebeck, speaking ahead of a 50-cent increase which came into effect on October 1. “Working families continue to feel squeezed by rising prices, and next week’s minimum wage increase will still leave minimum wage earners over $3 short of what they need to stay above the poverty line.”
According to the most recent living wage calculation by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba, Winnipeg’s living wage is $19.21/hr. A living wage is the amount people need to earn to cover the basic needs of a family, such as rent and groceries.
A recent study showed that fully 25 percent of Manitobans earn less than a living wage, meaning that 1 out of 4 people do not have a sufficient income to cover basic needs. Related to this, data from the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg indicates that Manitoba has the highest rate of child poverty among provinces in Canada.
The Pallister government froze Manitoba’s minimum wage for one year when it was first elected in 2016, and then passed legislation that only allowed the minimum wage to increase by the previous year’s inflation rate. Because of the one-year freeze and the fact that starting point for the inflationary increases was below a living wage level, the Pallister law ensures that minimum wage earners will never get above the poverty line.
The failure of this law was made clear by the Conservative government of Pallister’s successor Heather Stefanson, which had to override the legislation twice in one year simply to keep Manitoba’s minimum wage from falling to dead last in the country.
Rebeck said he wants the NDP government to take control and institute its own plan to lift minimum wage earners out of poverty instead of allowing Brian Pallister to continue to set Manitoba’s minimum wage.
“It is time for a new approach to minimum wage in our province, one that helps low-wage workers cover groceries, rent and other essential costs,” said Rebeck. “We know that the Ministers of Families and Housing, Addictions and Homelessness will be consulting with Manitobans about the government’s poverty reduction plans this fall. Now is the time for the NDP government to take our minimum wage out of the hands of Brian Pallister and empower the current cabinet to make a difference in the lives of Manitoba’s low-wage workers.”
The MFL recently commissioned a poll which showed that 69 percent of Manitobans believe no one working full time making minimum wage should live below the poverty line. Only 10 percent believe the current minimum wage is sufficient to live on.
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