St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud says some perspective is needed as the province prepares the rollout of its first minimum wage increase next month.
Last week, the Gazette reported that the economic impact of a $15 minimum wage to the city would be upwards of $65,000 per year, since it would not only require an increase to pay for the 129 casual workers but also for supervisory positions.
Renaud said that the city is unnecessarily panicking in the face of the $15 minimum wage hike.
“If the city feels it needs to do a review of their entire wage structure then certainly that’s something that they have to do. But I think if you look at people who are now earning minimum wage it’s not a big impact – you have a city that’s projecting an operating cost of $92 million, so you have to put that in perspective,” she said.
“If you want people to afford to stay in St. Albert and live and raise their families, you have to look at what they’re making.”
Renaud said it’s incorrect to think that the change will only affect teenagers.
In its 2014-15 minimum wage profile the province indicated that 11.8 per cent of workers earning minimum wage were aged 55 and over. Women also make up 62 per cent of the minimum wage working force and are often providing for single-parent homes.
She also noted that given recent entry-level job postings offering wages of $18 to $42 per hour there seems to be a fair amount of room between supervisory and casual earnings.
“If those are more front line roles than likely there’s more of a gap between someone who is paid minimum wage and their supervisor,” she said.
Renaud said she understands the concerns of hidden costs to a business. If she were still in her previous role of executive director of LoSeCa, a non-profit that provides support to adults with disabilities, she would likely be looking at how competitive her wages were within the new market.
But she said that with a staged approach the government is giving businesses ample time to come up with a strategy to address the costs of the minimum wage increase.
“It gives us some time to really get some real numbers on what the impact is on the City of St. Albert, as a big employer, but also small business,” said Renaud.
Renaud said her government is committed to listening to residents and that she will be collecting feedback after the first implementation on Oct. 1, when minimum wage goes up by a dollar to $11.20 per hour.
The new $15 minimum wage, if approved, would become effective in 2018.
