By Don Patterson
Staff Reporter
Alberta’s minimum wage is about to go up, however, it will likely have little impact for many employers who are already paying higher wages to attract and retain workers.
“I’ve been around here for a year and I’ve never paid minimum wage,” said Okotoks McDonalds owner Pierre Nuyt.
Starting April 1, the provincial minimum wage will rise to $8.40 per hour, from $8 per hour.
With his part-time employees starting at $9 per hour and full-time employees starting at $10.50, with a raise after six months, Nuyt said he looks beyond wages to attract employees workers. He said he offers incentives such as contests, bonuses and benefits for full-time employees.
“The young adults who work for me look at their paycheque, but they also look at the fun they have, they look at the iPod they can win once and a while and look at the crew of the month program,” he said.
Jeff Woolcott, owner of Okotoks Tim Hortons, echoed Nuyt’s comments, adding he has to pay more than minimum wage under the current market conditions.
“The minimum wage isn’t really our reality,” he said. “The market basically has already dictated what our minimum wage is and it’s far above what the government is proposing.”
The increase will raise Alberta’s minimum wage to the third highest in Canada after taxes. Even before taxes, Alberta will have the third highest minimum after Ontario and Manitoba. Ontario’s minimum wage is $8.75 per year and Manitoba’s is $8.50.
About 70,000, or 3.5 per cent, of working Albertans earn minimum wage, the majority of which are between 15 and 19 years of age working in the food service and hospitality industries.
Highwood MLA and Alberta Agriculture Minister George Groeneveld said it’s good news for those earning minimum wage.
“It is and it keeps us in the middle of the pack as far as where the rest of the provinces are,” he said.
Groeneveld said he doesn’t expect a lot of businesses to pay minimum wage under the province’s hot economy.
The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) approves of the minimum wage increase; however, it believes it’s not enough. The AFL proposed raising it to $10 per hour.
“Alberta’s current minimum wage of $8 per hour is simply too low,” said AFL president Gil McGowan in a statement. “We estimate that a living wage right now in the province would have to be at least $10 per hour. So, the government mandated increase to $8.40 per hour as of April 1 this year is actually very disappointing.”
With the increase, he said there are thousands of workers across the province who are earning near the minimum wage.
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