MINIMUM WAGE ACTION
Petition seeks support for hike to $15 from $10.96
Concerned citizens brought the conversation around a $15 minimum wage to Saskatchewan streets.
Members of Fight For $15 Saskatchewan stood outside Midtown Plaza in Saskatoon Friday morning, collecting signatures for a petition that asks the provincial government to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour from $10.96.
“We feel that people shouldn’t work so hard and still live in poverty,” said Dennel Pickering, who calls herself a Fight For $15 warrior.
Citing numbers from the Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives, Pickering said the living wage in Saskatchewan is estimated at more than $16 an hour — $16.19 in Saskatoon and $16.95 in Regina — so $15 is a “place to start.”
The group is working to get as many signatures as possible before bringing the petition to the Saskatchewan legislature, Pickering said.
Volunteers were out in force in Regina, too.
“If you’re a full-time worker earning $10.96 an hour, in Saskatchewan, you can’t afford to make ends meet,” said Nick Day, an education student and volunteer with Fight for $15. He said people working for the minimum wage sometimes have to make hard choices between things like rent and prescription medications.
Liam Murphy, who was walking to work in Saskatoon Friday, signed the petition to show his support, saying he hopes it gets the government’s attention.
“I think everyone is worth it,” he said. “Anyone who gets up in the morning and is there early for work is worth over $15 an hour, I believe.”
In a statement to Postmedia, the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety indicated the provincial minimum wage has been increased 10 times since 2007 and is reviewed annually using a formula based on change in the consumer price index and the last year’s average hourly wage for Saskatchewan.
“Saskatchewan’s approach of indexation provides predictable increases for employees and business owners,” the statement noted, citing a report from the Bank of Canada indicating minimum-wage raises across the country will cost Canada 60,000 jobs by 2019, despite the fact “net impact on labour income would be positive.”
“The government’s priority is to ensure the Saskatchewan economy continues to grow and provide opportunity. That is the key to poverty reduction.”
Petitions passed around the University of Regina quickly gained momentum. Volunteers said they had collected hundreds of signatures in just a few hours. U of R student Randy Orchard said he knows many people who are working hard for minimum wage and are struggling. A raise “wouldn’t make that much of a difference” to employers, Orchard said.
“People who are living paycheque to paycheque, they need it.”