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Alliance Policy on the Minimum Wage To: The Saskatchewan Minimum Wage Board From: The New Green Alliance September 15, 2004 The New Green Alliance would like to express our appreciation to the Minimum Wage Board for the opportunity to present our position on the issue of the provincial minimum wage. The New Green Alliance, a registered political party in Saskatchewan, is part of the international Green movement which has political parties in over 100 countries around the world. We have fraternal links with the Green Party of Canada, the other provincial Green parties, the Green Party of the USA, and are supporters of the principles embodied in the Global Green Charter. A country and a government is always judged by how it treats the weakest members of its community. In Saskatchewan we have not been doing well in this regard in recent years. Basic social assistance rates have not risen since 1980 and are now well below the unofficial poverty line, Statistics Canada's low income cutoff (LICO). Low incomes and the low minimum wage The Saskatchewan minimum wage, often the highest in Canada during the years of the government of Allan Blakeney (1971-1982), has been allowed to fall in real terms. The National Council of Welfare reports that in 1975 the minimum wage in Saskatchewan was the equivalent of 119 percent of the of the LICO. With the minimum wage currently at $6.65 per hour, a full time worker would earn only $13,300 per year, an income which is well below the LICO poverty line. This is unacceptable. Campaign 2000 reported in 2002 that child poverty in Saskatchewan was above the Canadian average and well above the levels in other industrialized countries. The percentage of workers who were in the category of "low wage jobs" (defined by the United Nations as two-thirds of the median wage, or $9.24 per hour in Canada) was very high for Canada (23.7%) and even higher for Saskatchewan (29.0%). This was double the rate in many European countries and triple the rate in the Scandinavian countries. This is unacceptable. Campaign 2000 in their 2003 national report identifies poor jobs and poor wages as a major contributing factor to the persistence of child poverty in Canada. Census figures show that 56% of children living in poverty are in families that are not on social assistance but are dependent on employment earnings. There are other indications that low wages are a serious problem in Saskatchewan: * A recent study by the Association for Canadian Studies, using Census data, found that the highest level of Aboriginal people living in poverty is found in Saskatchewan. * The Saskatoon Health District has cited numerous studies across Canada which show that poor health is closely linked to poverty and inequality. They note that low wages are a major disincentive to work. * The Saskatchewan Women's Secretariat has shown that low wages are a major factor in the gap in earned income between men and women and between those who live in urban and rural areas. Women workers in the private sector are more commonly found in low wage jobs. * Over the 1990s Saskatchewan consistently had the highest percentage of part time jobs of any province and the highest percentage of workers who were forced to work two or more jobs to try to make ends meet. * Young people leave Saskatchewan for Alberta not just because there are more jobs in that province. They also leave because wages are generally higher there than in Saskatchewan for similar work in the private sector. * The increase in the dependence on food banks in Saskatchewan is directly related to frozen social assistance rates and the relative decline of the value of the minimum wage. Determining the level of the minimum wage As a general principle, the minimum wage should provide a decent standard of living, one which permits an individual and a family to participate in normal community activities. The New Green Alliance and Green parties around the world are committed to a program of social justice which includes the eradication of poverty, the promotion of greater equality, and providing meaningful jobs for all who want to work. At present the minimum wage in Saskatchewan is only $6.65 per hour. The average minimum wage across Canada is $7.02. The decision by our provincial governments to allow the minimum wage to fall from the highest in Canada to one of the lowest is very disturbing. It is an indication of a change of values as we move from a society which cares about people to one based on personal greed. In November 1999 a national Vector Research public opinion poll asked Canadians what they thought the minimum wage should be. Nationally, the average proposed was $8.30 per hour. In Saskatchewan the people surveyed said it should be $7.40 per hour. At its founding convention in 1998 the New Green Alliance adopted a policy of setting the minimum wage at $7 per hour and linking it to the cost of living. Adjusted for inflation over the intervening period would have raised that figure to $8.80 per hour in 2004. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry and the University of Regina Students' Union are proposing that the minimum wage be raised to the level of the Statistics Canada low income cutoff (LICO), which would be $8.16 per hour. This should be considered the minimum acceptable level. In recent years the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour has called for the minimum wage to be raised to 75 percent of the average industrial wage. This seems to be a reasonable goal. Given the level of rent for housing in Regina and Saskatoon, it is hard for an individual to make ends meet on less than $10 per hour. Given the fact that urban development in Saskatchewan is based on the U.S. model of urban sprawl, and public transportation is quite limited, a personal vehicle is considered necessary by both individuals and families. This is even more true for people living in rural areas. In Saskatchewan a living wage, and the minimum wage, must include the option of owning and operating a reliable and safe vehicle. According to the Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics, in June 2004 the average weekly earnings of someone working in the goods producing industries earned $829 per week or $43,108 per year. This works out to around $21.55 per hour. The industrial aggregate includes all industries in Saskatchewan except those working in the primary sectors of agriculture, fishing and trapping. The Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics in June 2004 reports that these workers average $651 per week or $33,852 per year. This works out to around $16.93 per hour. Seventy-five percent of this would be $12.70 per hour. Position of the New Green Alliance The New Green Alliance believes that the minimum wage should be applied to all workers and strongly opposes a two tier system. We also believe that it should be raised at least twice a year to reflect the impact of inflation. Organizations representing small businesses often oppose increases in the minimum wage. This is a short sighted position. The minimum wage should be applied to all public and private employers. Low income people spend all of their income in the local community. The major competitive threat to local small business comes from corporations, giant chains and box stores which are vigorously anti-union, pay workers close to the minimum wage, provide few benefits for workers, and schedule work so that few workers can obtain full time employment. A higher minimum wage would encourage young people, people forced to work in part time jobs, and those unable to afford child care to enter the labour force and remain in this province. We would all benefit from such a development. The minimum wage should be raised to at least $8.80 per hour. Sources: Campaign 2000. Honouring Our Promises; Meeting the Challenge to End Child and Family Poverty. Ottawa: 2003. Canadian Council on Social Development. Measuring Poverty among Canada's Aboriginal People. Ottawa: Perception, fall 1999. Canadian Council on Social Development. Poverty Statistics. Ottawa, 2002. Canadian Council on Social Development. "Unequal Access: A Report Card on Racism," Perception, Winter 2000. National Council on Welfare. Fact Sheet; Poverty Lines 2003. Ottawa, March 2003. Poverty Action Group. A Brief to the Saskatchewan Cabinet. Regina, October 1, 1998. Saskatchewan Anti-Poverty Ministry. Saskatchewan Anti-Poverty Alternatives. Regina, 1999. Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Monthly Statistical Review, September 2004. Saskatchewan Child Poverty Report. Regina: Social Policy Research Unit, University of Regina, November 2002. Saskatchewan Federation of Labour. A Submission to the Minimum Wage Board. Fall, 2001. Saskatchewan Women's Secretariat. The Minimum Wage: Trends, Issues and Findings of Recent Research. Regina, January 1996. Saskatchewan Women's Secretariat. The Wage Gap; The difference in earnings between men and women. Regina, winter 1997. Saskatoon District Health. Poverty, Health and the Minimum Wage. Saskatoon, January 1996. Submitted by Neal Anderson, Leader, New Green Alliance. Drafted by John W. Warnock, secretary, Regina Area New Green Alliance Group. |