Sunday, March 25, 2007

Time to increase the minimum wage in BC

This weekend, I helped out the BC Federation of Labour's Young Workers Committee 'hit the streets' with their campaign to raise the minimum wage in BC to $10 an hour. Got a pretty good response as well, most people were definitely receptive to that idea and more than happy to sign the petition (which y'all should do as well).

Its definitely about time, been many years since an increase, and BC ain't getting any cheapr to live in with the rising cost of living. The issue has recieved a lot of attention federally and in Ontario, the government just announced in their budget last week that the minimum wage will rise to $10.25 an hour in a few years. This ofcourse after some well done pressure from the Ontario NDP.

I'm sure the BC NDP will eventually endorse this position as well, and who knows, maybe even the Liberals. They have been trying to act more progressive lately with all that sudden interest for the environment. An increase in the minimum wage is just the start ofcourse, but it seems to have perked a lot of peoples interests in poverty issues, and that could be a great beach-head in trying to adress wider issues surrounding poverty in our country.