Bill’s Right on Blog: 20 cent Minimum Wages Increase, Take It or Leave It (Opinion)

I want to complain about the $0.20 wage increase that minimum wage earners are getting. Taking part in Saskatchewan’s prosperous economy can seem unfulfilling if you are not earning enough to live and it’s clear that the cost of living has risen dramatically. And the 28% increase that the Saskatchewan Government has given minimum wage earners over the past 7 years only seems to irritate those who feel the government should be giving more more more.

Remember when our minimum wage was 7.55 and we felt a $0.40 increase was fantastic! Yes the good old NDP days! Then the Saskatchewan Party got in and everything went haywire. Seems they thought minimum wage wasn’t high enough and the following year increased it to $8.25 on January 1, 2008. It was one of the first moves they made as a new government.

If that wasn’t enough a plan was set in place to increase the minimum wage to $8.60 in May of that same year, and the following year on May 1, 2009 to $9.25. Finally, with an election looming in 2011 the Saskatchewan Party Government raised the minimum wage one more time to $9.50 causing the Minister to state, “Since our government took office in 2007, we have raised the minimum wage by more than the rate of inflation,” Morgan said. “In fact, minimum wage has increased by $1.55 an hour or 19.5 per cent since 2007.”

If that wasn’t enough since 2007 taxes have been dropped as well so minimum wage earners can earn more without getting taxed for it. Coupled with increased minimum wage increases disposable income for full and part time workers has increased about 22%. I remember when I started working in 1992 my wage was $5.25 and I made 300 bucks every two weeks and I thought I was in heaven. Mind you I was on reserve, didn’t pay taxes, nor rent.

It’s always a balancing act to ensure the needs of the workers are met with a living wage while making sure the small businesses are able to pay workers while maintaining a profit to operate. Most of the time businesses are forced to raise their prices to consumers to help pay for these increases to minimum wage passing the cost on. I do hope with such a small increase that many business will be able to swallow it as an operating expense and pass the buying power on to the workers.

It may only work out to a couple of loaves of bread or a bit of milk at the end of the week but that $0.20 increase is a help at the very least. What are your thoughts?

– Bill Stevenson, Bill’s Right On Blog