Report raises living wage in Winnipeg, Thompson by five per cent

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (968 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local think tank is calling for Manitoba’s minimum wage to hit $19.21. 

That’s how much is needed to earn a living wage in Winnipeg, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Manitoba branch. 

“Inflation has hit Manitobans in their pocketbooks,” said Jesse Hajer, co-author of the report, which was released Tuesday. 

Economists raised Winnipeg’s living wage five per cent from the previous year due to inflation. Recent $10-a-day childcare offset some of the rising costs, according to researchers. 

Thompson’s living wage — $17.48 an hour — followed Winnipeg with a five per cent jump. The living wage in Brandon increased a mere three cents, to $15.69, largely due to stable rent prices, Hajer said. 

He called the province’s minimum wage “poverty level.” 

“If someone is working full time, they should not be living in poverty,” he continued. 

The minimum hourly rate moved to $15.30 this October, a $3.35 increase from September of 2022. 

Winnipeg’s population consumes a majority of the province’s total; it’s why the CCPA wants the capital city’s living wage mandated across Manitoba. 

“I think it’s quite feasible,” said Hajer, a University of Manitoba economics and labour studies professor. 

Niall Harney, a report co-author and senior researcher at the CCPA, said the team would like to see the $19.21 phased in gradually and “well communicated to businesses.” 

The increase in labour costs wouldn’t have a sizeable impact, and many local businesses pay staff above minimum wage to stay competitive, making the requested leap smaller, Hajer asserted. 

Changing minimum wage to $19.21 would be a roughly 26 per cent increase from the current rate. 

“We also have seen, in many of the industries that pay minimum wage, astronomical profits since the pandemic.”– Jesse Hajer, co-author of a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Manitoba branch

“We also have seen, in many of the industries that pay minimum wage, astronomical profits since the pandemic,” Hajer said, highlighting grocery stores. 

People earning a living wage will likely spend more at local shops, creating positive economic spin-off, he added. 

Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino did not answer whether the government plans to mandate the CCPA’s living wage. 

Instead, in a written statement, she pointed to the NDP’s promise to pause the provincial fuel tax starting Jan. 1. 

Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500, called for the City of Winnipeg to pay its staff, at minimum, $19.21 hourly. 

The City did not respond to questions by print deadline. 

The new liveable wages, and the question of raising the minimum wage further, drew praise and criticism from Manitoba’s business sphere. 

Assiniboine Credit Union committed to raising its minimum pay to $19.21 hourly. Brendan Reimer, the company’s strategic partner of values-based banking, called the move a “smart business approach” and “the right thing to do.” 

The credit union has been keeping pace with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ living wages for a number of years, Reimer said. 

It’s helped the credit union stay competitive in the labour market, he added. 

“This is how we… support the financial health of those who work for ACU and strengthen the local economy,” he stated. 

Persons Community Solutions, a community safety-focused social enterprise, has also followed the think tank’s living wages. 

“We do not believe in creating roles that aren’t valuable,” stated Daniel Waycik, the social enterprise’s co-founder. “If a business can’t afford to pay somebody to work at a living wage, then there’s a flaw in their business modelling.” 

However, the report comes as businesses face a plethora of increased costs and debt repayments, both the heads of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and the Winnipeg chapter noted. 

Increasing the minimum wage to the CCPA’s liveable wage would “cause significant challenges, and would most likely end up in price increases” affecting consumers, said Chuck Davidson, the provincial organization’s president. 

A recent Canadian Chamber of Commerce survey found three-quarters of businesses with a Canada Emergency Business Account loan will likely take until 2026 to repay their debt. 

Nationally, inflation, input and debt costs are businesses’ top concerns. 

“I think it’s pretty simple to say, ‘Let’s just pass that cost on to business owners, and they can increase salaries,’” Davidson stated, adding it’s not that easy. 

“When we’re talking about the poverty and disparity of our community, we need to be talking about a strategy to transform opportunity for people.”– Loren Remillard, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive

Most companies have adapted to the recent increases in minimum wage, he added. 

“When we’re talking about the poverty and disparity of our community, we need to be talking about a strategy to transform opportunity for people,” said Loren Remillard, the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive. 

The conversation shouldn’t be singularly on wage, he expressed: “we want to have a robust, a more thoughtful, a more considerate conversation.” 

Remillard also questioned the breakdown of costs in the CCPA report. 

The 2023 living wages were based on a family with two parents and two children, where both parents work full-time and access $10-a-day childcare. 

The listed family expenses on a “bare bones budget” in Winnipeg include $1,022 a month for food and $1,813 monthly for shelter. 

Transportation is shown to cost $611 a month, which includes the amortized cost of owning and operating a used car, and one adult monthly bus pass. 

The living wage doesn’t cover credit card payments, retirement savings and home ownership, among other things, the report notes. 

It reflects the money required for a family of four to avoid severe financial stress, according to the CCPA. 

Last year, the organization determined a family of four with two working parents in Winnipeg would need to earn $18.34 per hour to make a living wage. 

The number was $15.66 in Brandon and $16.25 in Thompson. 

The newly updated living wage highlights the growing gap between Manitoba’s minimum wages and the hourly pay people require for their basic needs, Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com