Vancouver Forum: eighth anniversary of $8.00 an hour minimum wage

Eight years @$8.00

This week marked the Eighth Anniversary of BCs last minimum wage increase. It also marks the BC Liberals introduction of the $6.00 training wage for new workers.

Learn more about whats being said about BCs frozen minimum wage:

B.C.'s $8 minimum wage turns eight.--Low-wage workers being 'left behind,' says B.C. Federation of Labour

The Province - BC's $8.00 an hour minimum wage turned eight on Sunday, and the B.C. Federation of Labour says eight is enough.

The labour group marked the "disgraceful" anniversary by handing out stickers and signing petitions asking for higher wages.

And the Fed's Young Workers Committee took to Vancouver's downtown with some street theatre, by taking up position in key corners of the city and "freezing" in poses to spread the word. Read more.



Editorial: Time to hike B.C. minimum wage

The Province - For eight years, the minimum wage in British Columbia has stayed at $8 an hour. It is time for that to change.

The British Columbia business community argues that a recession is not the time to tack on the cost of increased wages. That may be true. But if a recession is not the time to add to the minimum wage, when is the time? Is a period of booming economic prosperity the time? Apparently not, since we enjoyed remarkable growth in this province for most of the decade, yet the minimum wage didn't move a cent. Read more.



B.C. Federation of Labour calling for thaw on minimum wage freeze on its 8th anniversary.

CFAX 1070 - He's calling it a disgrace -- this from the President of the B.C. Federation of Labour about the fact that it has been eight years since BC raised its minimum wage. Read more.





Eight years of Eight bucks

CKNW - Sunday marks eight years since BC last increased the minimum wage.
Minimum wage in this province has been the lowest in Canada since September 1st when New Brunswick increased its minimum wage to $8.25. Read more.



B.C.'s minimum wage: Eight years of $8

ctvbc.ca-Young workers held a rally in downtown Vancouver Sunday to protest the provincial government's minimum wage.

Sunday marked eight years since BC raised its minimum wage. The province's $8 an hour minimum wage is the lowest in the country. Read more.



Eight years at eight bucks an hour

BRITISH COLUMBIA (News1130) - The cost of living continues to increase, yet the minimum wage has stayed at eight bucks an hour for the last eight years in BC. Read more.



Make the minimum wage irrelevant

It's pretty clear that BC is trailing the pack when it comes to minimum wage. At $8 per hour , we're dead last across Canada. That's a shame and it needs to change. But ideally, BC's business class and political leadership will be able to set a foundation where it's essentially irrelevant. Read more.




How can you help?

1. Ask a friend or family member to sign our petition or print off a copy and take it to your workplace, school, minor hockey game, or book club. To find more information click here.

2. Write to your MLA and let her or him know that you support a $10 minimum wage.

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Happy anniversary.

First up: $8 an hour is a very low wage, I get that, but;
I know that jobs are not as plentiful these days, but I would suggest that generally speaking, if you are worth more than $8 an hour, you'd most likely be able to demand more than $8 an hour...
Example: The Subway store in Squamish was in need of staff last winter, and kept adverising in the local paper to potentail applicants, so they slowly increased their starting wage, and even ended up adding Room & board to their ad just to fill the position!!! That even made the TV news, and then the position was filled!
Plus, we all started at the bottom but usually as your training expands, your experience often gets you higher wages either by annual raises or by appling for higher paying positions as they become available...
If you start at $8 an hour, wouldn't you expect to be making a little more 6 months later, 12 months later??? Might you then try to get more experiences to get you even higher paying jobs?

Sometimes, it's not just the hourly wage, but those PAID Health Benefits can really make a difference too! If you have a kid or two, you really need a job that offers benefits after a brief probation period...

This post has been edited by Superchecker: 08 November 2009 - 07:09 AM

Rahm Emanuel worked at Subway. He waves his hand around when he talks. You can see he is missing half of one finger. He is proud to say he lost it working in a Subway sub shop. He is now one of the ten most influential people in the world. He decided he wouldn't accept minimum wage.

Soiled Midget Negligee, on 08 November 2009 - 10:50 AM, said:

Actually it was an Arby's. Even worse.

$8 was too high in the first place .. should've been lower.. then raised yearly to be at $8 now.

Business owners will always be against raising the minimum wage, because that would allow their workers to save some money. And a worker with savings is a worker who doesn't have to take a job out of desperation.

Too many business owners think of themselves like kings, their business being their own personal fiefdom, where they get to set all the rules and control everybody. The only countervailing force that has been successful against this douchebaggery is the formation of labor unions.

Join a union if you can, or try starting one where you work, if you feel underpaid and undervalued.

smelly, on 08 November 2009 - 11:31 AM, said:

You've got to be joking. I hope whatever business you run fails, or that your little peons royally screw you over one way or another.

Captain Dick, on 08 November 2009 - 01:09 PM, said:

Well put.

razzmatazz, on 08 November 2009 - 02:19 PM, said:

At the end of the day the minimum wage doesn't really make all that much different, COL will be adjusted accordingly to whatever it may be. Purchasing power is the important thing, and minimum wage doesn't really change that.

The basic personal amount should something like $20,000. Low income people shouldn't be paying tax to support low income people.

My own personal opinion is that if the minimum wage hit $10 right now, you would see some small business's close, and short term job losses making the government look even worse. Eventually it will correct itself, but at the end of the day the change in the low income budget is really nothing.

Goat Boy©, on 08 November 2009 - 04:33 PM, said:

Then why have a minimum wage at all?