Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Not now
THE Manitoba government should hold off on plans to increase the minimum wage in 2010 until the economy improves and the rate of job growth increases.
Since the New Democrats assumed power in 1999, the minimum wage has risen to $9 an hour from $6, or 50 per cent over the period, a rate of growth that ensured Manitoba neither led nor trailed the field in terms of legislated wages.
Proponents of regular and generous increases in the minimum wage claim they are necessary to reduce poverty. Opponents say wage floors actually cause unemployment and reduce the total number of hours worked. There is no consensus among economists on these issues.
As a result, governments tend to make somewhat arbitrary decisions in determining the minimum wage based on consultations with labour and private-sector groups, neither of which is ever entirely happy with the outcome.
Premier Greg Selinger has sent a weak signal that he intends to control spending in the upcoming year, which is not enough given the economic conditions facing the province. With that in mind, it would be inappropriate to increase pressure on those sectors of the economy that depend on discretionary spending, notably restaurants and nightclubs, which, incidentally, also rely on minimum-wage workers. An extra 25 cents an hour adds up a lot faster for employers than employees.
The province should wait until times are better before stiffing companies with inflationary pressure on the costs of doing business.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 30, 2009 A14
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