British Columbia’s minimum wage — already one of the highest in Canada — will rise by 45 cents on Nov. 1 to $7.60 an hour. The province is planning to increase it even further, to $8 an hour by Nov. 1, 2001. Only Yukon, at $7.20 an hour, currently has a higher minimum wage.
Beginning this November, a single minimum-wage worker in B.C. will pocket an additional $654.27 after taxes each year. Dual-income families with two children will take home $1,121.33 extra.
Despite complaints from the business community, which claims the increase will mean layoffs and fewer jobs in the future, Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said, “working men and women must know that their hard work means they are climbing ahead, not slipping behind.”
It’s estimated that about 68,000 people in B.C. currently work for minimum wage. While many of those are high school students, half of that number is more than 25 years old. And three-quarters of those minimum-wage earners older than 25 are women.
B.C.’s last minimum wage increase was in April 1998.
Beginning this November, a single minimum-wage worker in B.C. will pocket an additional $654.27 after taxes each year. Dual-income families with two children will take home $1,121.33 extra.
Despite complaints from the business community, which claims the increase will mean layoffs and fewer jobs in the future, Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said, “working men and women must know that their hard work means they are climbing ahead, not slipping behind.”
It’s estimated that about 68,000 people in B.C. currently work for minimum wage. While many of those are high school students, half of that number is more than 25 years old. And three-quarters of those minimum-wage earners older than 25 are women.
B.C.’s last minimum wage increase was in April 1998.
