Entry-level jobs growing

Dear Editor:

Re: $15 as a minimum wage in B.C.

Low wages in B.C. are not primarily about young people. In fact the sad reality is that 82 per cent of those earning less than $15 per hour are 20 or older.

So-called, entry-level jobs are growing at a higher rate than well-paying jobs.

For many, low-wage work is a life-long reality, especially for women and workers of colour.

Increasing the minimum wage in B.C. to $15 per hour is about being fair. It is our chance to take a real step toward reducing income inequality. Seventy-eight per cent of British Columbians agree that the minimum wage should put you above the poverty line.

Fifteen dollars per hour would do just that – if you are lucky enough to work 40 hours a week.

It is a move that would impact more than half-a-million people in B.C., the majority of whom work for employers with more than 100 employees and could surely afford to pay more.

Workers invest those dollars in our local communities.

Poverty has a cost too, to the tune of billions in health care, education, policing and lost economic opportunities.

So if you ask me who will benefit for a $15 per hour minimum wage? I say all of us.

And as for the seniors that are working at WalMart, look no further than the lack of pension plans as the real culprit.

Brent Voss, President South Okanagan Boundary Labour Council