A BC minimum wage increase has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now.
With the high costs of living and with one of the lowest minimum wages in the country – the BC federation of labour is hoping to increase that minimum wage from $10.25 to $15 an hour with their fight for 15 campaign…
Chamber of commerce CEO Christy Ray believes that while an increase may be necessary, a jump that large too quickly could be catastrophic for local business owners:
“If costs go up adjustments need to be made, so an almost 50 percent increase in labour costs are going to mean that small businesses have to find that money somewhere else, so there is talk of potential reductions to staff, reductions to staff hours..”
Ray says while the chamber is not against a wage increase, such a large rise in a small time frame would greatly effect an entire commerce chain that is very difficult to keep balanced, and instead believes that a slightly smaller increase over an extended period of time may be more beneficial for employees and businesses alike.
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