The Alberta government is boosting the province’s minimum wage, while at the same time creating a new two-tiered system.
On Wednesday, Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk announced the raise for minimum wage earners, moving them from $8.80 to $9.40 per hour.
Not everyone will see that increase; Lukaszuk also announced a new class of minimum wage for people who serve alcohol as a regular part of their job. Those workers will have a minimum wage of $9.05 per hour, which the minister said recognizes a large portion of their earnings come from tips.
Lukaszuk said finding the right minimum wage was about finding the right balance.
“Raising minimum wage too much could set such a large burden that it would leave us with a situation where we end up with fewer jobs or even worse perhaps, fewer employers.”
Lukaszuk said he worked as a server and knows gratuities are a significant portion of their earnings, making the lower minimum wage fair.
“I was a full-time student and full-time waiter at an Edmonton hotel. There were months where I simply lived off the gratuities because they are such a significant component.”
The government aims to create a $1 separation between the two minimum wages. Lukaszuk said cabinet will review the wage annually and will adjust it based on cost of living and average wage figures. The lower wage for alcohol servers will not move upward until the separation is created.
Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald gave the government partial credit for the change, but rejected the idea of a split.
“Any help that minimum wage earners get will certainly be appreciated, but I certainly do not agree that this province needs a two-tiered minimum wage,” he said. “The people who are earning $9 an hour, they need every penny they get in wages.”
Lukaszuk said he wants a minimum wage that encourages and allows people to move out of it.
“It is a race to make sure that most people have jobs, that most employers are operational and that Albertans have the opportunity to start working at minimum wage before moving on to higher paying jobs.”
The two-tiered minimum wage goes against the recommendations of an all-party committee Lukaszuk struck last year to study the issue, which specifically said the two tiers was too complicated and should be ignored.
He said the committee did excellent work, but he chose to adopt just some of its advice.
“Only 1.4 per cent of Alberta employees are working at minimum wage, many of them are young, many live at home, many of them are working part-time while at school on their way to higher paying careers,” he said.
Lukaszuk made the announcement at a downtown Edmonton restaurant on Wednesday,
Nancy Lee Burrows, a waitress there, said she felt the changes are reasonable.
“Young people going into the work force making minimum wage, maybe it will teach them to stay in school longer and get better paying jobs.”
Sergio Turlione, the restaurant’s owner, said he would love to be able to pay his staff more, but the money would have to come from somewhere.
“You would love to pay your dishwasher $20 an hour, but are you willing to pay $25 for a Caesar salad?”
He said this change was reasonable and he didn’t think it would cause his business any significant trouble.
“We are a great province, it is a rich province, we should be among the top paying people in the country.”
