The wage increase in the province has already started to have an effect on the operation of local businesses.
Some places, like the Playground Cafe in Prince George, already operate under a small profit margin and are prepared for the rate hike by raising prices in some areas.
Owner and Operate Jeni Arnott says they now have their hands full trying to make it work.
“What ends up happening is we end up chasing our tail where prices go up in one area and expenses go up. That’s what we have to do working in a small business and what we have to look at. How can we make this work to benefit the business and customer.”
It’s also causing them to look at hiring more experienced employees to reduce the amount of time spent training someone new.
“If we can try and get people who are more experienced before they come on board instead of spending the time actually training them, that would be the most beneficial for us. It is hard to justify hiring a high school student who’s coming in for a first job and is going to get the same pay scale as someone with 5 years experience,” added Arnott.
On Friday, the provincial government raised the minimum wage to $12.65 an hour bringing it on track to raise wages to $15 by 2021.
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