No time to waste in giving BC's lowest paid an overdue raise

VANCOUVER, Aug. 15, 2017 /CNW/ - A planned bump in the minimum wage next month is a good step but the government must commit to a timeline to get to $15 per hour.

"British Columbia's working poor deserve a $15 per hour minimum wage," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "Too many workers, especially in Metro Vancouver, are making impossible choices between paying the rent and other bare necessities like medicine or groceries."

If British Columbia moves to a $15 per hour minimum wage, it will join neighbouring Alberta and Seattle and give tens of thousands of low wage workers the ability to make ends meet. Unifor also supports scrapping the servers' wage, which lowers the wage floor for workers responsible for serving liquor.

"The BC Liberals filled the party's coffers with donations from large chain restaurants that benefit from low wages," said Joie Warnock, Unifor Western Regional Director. "It's time hard-working British Columbians got a break. Restaurant owners have dictated provincial wage policy long enough."

Unifor says it looks forward to giving workers' input on minimum wage deliberations.

"We look forward to working with the fair wage commission to bring the real experiences of workers to the table," said Warnock. "This government was elected with a $15 per hour minimum wage commitment. There's no time to waste."

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 310,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

Unifor Communications Representative Ian Boyko at [email protected] or 778-903-6549 (cell).