After years of increases under the previous NDP government, Manitoba's minimum wage will not change this October.
The Pallister government has decided to hold the line on the hourly minimum rate at $11, at least for now.
While some businesses are breathing a sigh of relief, minimum wage earners are worried about keeping up with the rising cost of living.
Winnipegger Adnan Zia immigrated from Pakistan four years ago and earns minimum wage working as a customer service representative.
He’s happy to have a job, but he said taking care of his family, paying the bills and putting food on the table can be difficult making the basic wage.
“I think it should be increased according to inflation and the price hikes and everything,” Zia said. “Liberties are a separate thing, but the necessities need to be catered according to the earnings. We need to get more wages or increase in the wages so we can manage our budget.”
The Manitoba Federation of Labour said no increase to the minimum wage will set workers back about $400 this year when taking inflation into account, said president Kevin Rebeck.
Growth, Enterprise, and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen said the government has made other changes to help minimum wage earners.
The basic personal exemption is being raised to $9,292 in 2017, taking 2,770 low income earners off the tax rolls. That will cost the government $11.6 million for a full year.
“What we’ve done as a new government, we’ve increased the threshold in terms of where people pay income tax, with that mechanism we’re allowing more people to keep more money in their pockets at the end of the day,” Cullen said.
Cullen explained the government has asked the Labour Management Review Committee to for its input and has requested the committee to focus on coming up with an index formula that would automatically adjust minimum wage on an annual basis.
Minimum wage affects about five per cent of Manitoba’s working population, Cullen said.
Manitobans can have their say about the minimum wage at Your Province Your Plan.
