Nova Scotia also increasing rate to $10 as of October
Saskatchewan will increase the province's minimum wage as of Sept. 1, 2011. The wage will increase from $9.25 to $9.50 per hour, which will also result in a corresponding increase to the minimum call-out pay to $28.50.
The 2.7-per-cent increase represents an average of the 1.4-per- cent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the four-per-cent increase in the average hourly wage, said the government.
"Since our government took office in 2007, we have raised the minimum wage by more than the rate of inflation," said Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan. "In fact, minimum wage has increased by $1.55 an hour or 19.5 per cent since 2007."
The province’s Minimum Wage Board is required by legislation to review the minimum wage and report to the government every two years.
Nova Scotia also announced its minimum wage is increasing to $10 per hour on Oct. 1, 2011. This is a 3.6-per-cent increase from the present rate of $9.65. The minimum wage for inexperienced workers, with less than three months' experience in the work for which they were hired, will rise to $9.50.
The increase brings Nova Scotia in line with the other Atlantic provinces which have all either announced plans to increase to $10 per hour this fiscal year or are now at this rate, said the government.
"The minimum wage rate is an important benchmark that must continue to reflect the current economic climate," said Marilyn More, minister of labour and advanced education. "This increase is consistent with increases across the country and brings the rate back in line, in terms of buying power, with where it was in the mid 1970s. It ensures that Nova Scotians continue to be paid fairly for their work."
After the increase in October, future increases will occur in April 2012, indexing the minimum wage to the low income cut off, which represents the threshold where people are devoting a significantly larger-than-average percentage of their income to the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing, said the government. This will be done based on the national estimated CPI from the previous calendar year, which is usually released in January.
