Living wage

Although it hasn’t officially been calculated, it’s estimated the living wage in the Okanagan is $18.21 an hour for a household with two parents and two kids.

Yet, the minimum wage is $12.65.

That means there’s a lot of people who work full-time who can’t make ends meet for their family.

That’s where the Living Wage for Families Campaign comes in.

The non-profit organization is a coalition of businesses and unions that advocate a living wage and promise to pay it or more to all their employees and contractors.

Unions that have staff and members in the Okanagan are members, such as the Hospital Employees Union, B.C. Government Employees Union, B.C. Teachers Federation, Canadian Union of Public Employees and United Food and Commercial Workers.

So far, 130 B.C. businesses are Living Wage certified.

However, there’s only two employers in the Okanagan that have joined – Osoyoos Credit Union and Modo Car Share.

Modo Car Share only has one employee in Kelowna and a few contractors.

While the Living Wage campaign still has a long way to