Health unit says local living wage 81 cents above provincial minimum
What is the living wage in 2018 for Windsor and Essex County? According to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, it’s 81 cents higher than the current provincial minimum wage, at $14.81. That’s based on a family of four, with two parents working full-time jobs at 37.5 hours a week.
“The difference between minimum wage and living wage is living wage is based on the local environment,” explained Nicole Dupuis, director of health promotion at WECHU.
“So it’s based on the actual cost of living.
“For ours, it’s based on a family of four, so it’s based on what a family of four needs to achieve basic quality of life.”
The living wage takes into account local costs for things such as healthy food, shelter and utilities, furnishings and transportation (one car plus operating costs, and a bus pass).
“What does it take to house, clothe, feed, participate in society, do all the things you would need to do to have that basic general quality of life here,” said Dupuis. The living wage can vary widely depending on the area of the province. In Toronto, the latest living wage calculation, in 2015, came in at $18.52.
The calculation is based on national guidelines from the Canadian Living Wage Framework, and imagines the family in question has a three-year-old child requiring 260 days of full-day child daycare, and a seven-yearold who requires 65 days of fullday child daycare in the summer and 195 days of before-and-after school care.
Dupuis said the calculation includes a healthy basket of food for one month, which can vary yearto-year.
“The nutritious food basket fluctuates,” said Dupuis. “There may be a drought somewhere and then the cost of fruits and vegetables goes sky high. That’s all contemplated in the living wage calculation.”
The living wage does not take into account things such as savings, debt or student loan repayments, home ownership, special dietary requirements, costs related to a disability or professional development.
The $14.81 figure is for employers that do not supply benefits, while the living wage for employers that do is $13.58. The last living wage for WindsorEssex was calculated in 2015 and was $15.15 per hour.
Since that calculation, total household expenses increased to $66,374 from $54,630 in 2014. Much of that increase can be attributed to higher child-care expenses, which rose from $8,291 to $14,408 per year.
Also, shelter and utilities costs rose from $12,687 in the 2015 living wage to $14,952, an increase of $2,265 a year.
Dupuis is encouraging local employers to become involved in the living wage program, which will entitle them to a certificate and a decal they can place in their window.
They can also use the living wage logo on their websites and be featured on the WECHU living wage website.
“We hope that employers would agree,” said Dupuis. “Improved attendance, loyal employees, healthy employees. It’s not a forced thing. “We’re encouraging people to adopt that mindset, that it’s a good thing for their business, for their community and their employees.”