Effective Jan. 1, the provincial minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $9.50 per hour.
According to a news release, the provincial government says the increase represents another step toward meeting a commitment of achieving a minimum wage of $10 per hour by 2010.
Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human resources, Labour and Employment, said the plan to increase the minimum wage to $10 through a gradual series of increases was based on extensive consultations with employers and workers.
"I am confident these increases will allow our province to offer one of the most attractive and competitive work environments in the country, and I look forward to achieving our $10 per hour wage target this July," she said.
The current series of increases to the minimum wage began on Jan. 1, 2009, when the minimum wage was increased to $8.50 per hour. The decision to implement 50 cent increases to the minimum wage every six months reflects a balanced approach that achieves the provincial government's commitment while recognizing the need for employers to have time to prepare for the increases. The final scheduled increase will take effect on July 1, 2010.
Increasing earned incomes is one of the goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Minimum wage to increase Jan. 1
- Published on December 22, 2009
- Published on June 30, 2010
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Staff ~ The Telegram
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Comments
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- teamplayer
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:38
These raises don't mean much anyway. When the businesses have to pay more for there staff where do you think those extra expenses are going to go? They will be passed back on to the consumer as the business owners are not going to shoulder that loss on their own. Wages go up 10%, well now your $2 loaf of bread costs $2.20, and so on and so on!!
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- Gen X
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:00
Awesome! Maybe now some leaches on welfare can afford to start to work? I dont think it would make difference if the minimum wages were $20/hr, you'd still have 'Help Wanted' signs and people being too lazy to get off the couch.
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- Bee
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:01:26
All of you, try running a small business, you will all change your tune. If I raise my prices, the competition and mainland are cheaper, I'll go out of business. Then what, no jobs to pay even minimum wages. Yes some businesses abuse the employees, but most are just making enough to survive, and that usually is working 10, 12, and more hours a day, some weekends, nights, and all the worry and government paper burden, regulations, business taxes, insurances, workers compensation, rrsp and u.i.c. payments, etc.etc.etc., I could go on and on, that part you don't see.
Try it someday. -
- Heather
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:58:56
Dickie - you are not even remotely close to being realistic.
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- Jason
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:18
Remember when min wage was 5.50? I do, I was just coming out of high school and had my first Job at Sobey's. God i knew all the prices....items that were $0.49 then, are now $0.89....After 2010, they will be $0.99. People think they win when min wage goes up, but the big companies are not losing here people, it is people like you and me who have good paying jobs, who don't get these increases of 50 cents every 6 mos. If a company needs to recover an extra 10k a month in wage increases, they just add a few cents here and there. Something that was $0.69 today...is $0.79 tomorrow.
Ask someone who is working a min wage job for the last 7 years if they are any better now than they were 7 years ago. Most people will say no. -
- b
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:16
For the most part, minimum wage salaries are confined to entry level jobs which are generally filled by students with little or no experiance.
I myself worked for minimum wage when working summer jobs. I understood that I could not expect to earn that which a person with specialized job training would earn.
Legislating higher minimum wage will simply lead to employers passing that increase on to the consumer. It is for this reason that I am against a $10 minimum wage. -
- Whatever Bud
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:54:19
Im all for people earning a living wage,but this and further increases in the minimum wage is a death sentence for small business. The big businesses with their 10 year tax holidays/subsidized wages ,read:corporate welfare, will not suffer in the least.
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- BA
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:53:17
Minimum wage jobs are not meant to be permanent in most cases. They are jobs that are usually held by students and people just starting out in the workforce. If you are still holding a minimum wage job 3 or 4 years after leaving school, then you may just need to re-think your level of education and training.
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- Jack O
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:52:40
Okay, Seamus, would you be willing to work for minimum wage?
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- DB
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:52:14
Any employer who's paying minimum wage isn't fit to work for. After all, what is minimum wage other than an employer saying that if he could pay you less, he would. Not exactly employee appreciation.
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- Anon
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:52:05
Hey Danny, I got a better idea keep your dam minnimum wage hikes and give us some gasoline for cheaper! If saudi arabia can take stakes in their own oil revenues and pass on the savings to their citizens who pay almost nothing for gas compared to North America then why cant Newfoundland do the same thing?
If my tax dollars are going to help fund Nalcor then where is my share? Where are my savings on Electricity and Petrol? -
- Chad
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:50:33
At $10/hr, NL has the highest minimum wage rate in Canada. I believe that
is a great accomplishment for the province.
Dickie, I don't think a 100% increase in everyone's wage is very realistic. -
- Angelica
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:48:52
Good news for Darlene Neville.
-
- Flash
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:47:48
Looks like Dicky needs to move to Alberta or go back to school and become a DOCTOR
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- Calvin
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:46:45
This is one issue I believe this government has messed up. If minimum wage increases do you think that the money to pay workers comes out of the employers pocket? Wrong, it comes out of the consumers pocket. If Sobeys (for example) has to pay all of their workers 50 cents more an hour do you think prices on dairy, beef and produce is going to remain where it is? No, it is going to go up because Sobeys still wants the same profit margins they had last year. And rent, it will go up with wages. The only problem is that someone getting paid $13 an hour does not get the same 50 cent an hour wage increase as the minimum wage employee, so their rent increases while they are still making $13 an hour. Clothes, electronics, gas..... the list of increased prices due to minimum wage increase goes on and on. If the government wants to set up a stable economy they need to introduce programs to do so. Rent control, free education, more reliable public transit, etc. will allow the government to obtain a more stable local economy. Everyone is going to jump down my throat saying Who is going to pay for all of this? Employers. If they were taxed to help provide some of the public services mentioned above then their prices may still incease, but at least that increase is helping the majority of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians rather than just barely helping the bottom of the barrel in the workforce.
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- Need_To
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:04
Sounds great but what was our unemployment rate again here, 15 or 16%?
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- bayman
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:43:10
I can see where some people are coming from in reference to a much higher minimum wage. With the amount of price gouging local businesses are guilty of, it's hard to justify NOT ordering things in from the mainland or overseas for yourself when you don't make very much money. It is soooo much cheaper after all all factors are taken into account. Local businesses shoot themselves in the feet and then go to the Telegram and start crying.
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- jason
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:42:10
wow, so now for a 40 hour work week a person will bring home about 1200 a month before any deductions like medical or pension plans---- oh wait most employers dont pay any benefits of pension plans. So a one bedroom apartment is now $500 at the cheapest, and in another $200 for utilities( Heat,phone etc) Food now is far from cheap unless you want to eat unhealthy and have Mr noodles and hot dogs every day. At $10 a day for 3 meals thats $300 a month ( good luck eating all 3 meals for 10 bucks a day) so now you have 200 or less dollars to buy personal items( cloths, medication) and pay for some way to get to work if your not within walking distance. I ask small and large business owners out there, if you can afford to pay more than minimum wage and dont elect too than you should be ashamed of yourselfs. If you cant afford to pay minimum wage than you need to close shop and rethink your business.
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- teamplayer
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:41:21
These raises don't mean much anyway. When the businesses have to pay more for there staff where do you think those extra expenses are going to go? They will be passed back on to the consumer as the business owners are not going to shoulder that loss on their own. Wages go up 10%, well now your $2 loaf of bread costs $2.20, and so on and so on!!
-
- Andrew
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:40:17
Lets not stop at $10! NL's workforce seems to be based off minimum wage. With no major jobs to attract people, this wage increase needs to be more!
-
- Yes
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:40:07
Oh that vicious circle.....$10.00 sounds pretty good........But back in the late 50's early 60's min wage was $0.75 - $0.90....a Spur Cola(made right here in NL) was 10c, a bag of chips(Scotties) was 5c, squares(Walshes) were 6c each, a quart of milk was 37c, a loaf of bread was 21c, a GALLON(4 1/2 litres) of gas was 43c.......Now all thes commodities have risen in cost about 10 to 12 times the cost......Now a Gallon of gas costs $4.90, 2 litres of milk(1.75~ quarts) cost................well up go wages ...then up goes everything else you consume.....nothing ever changes
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- Dickie
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:42
minumum wage should be no less than $20/hr for anyone to survive in this province. Too much employer greed for things to ever change in Nfld!
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- Seamus
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:21
Great attitude there, things go up but it is never enough. Let's try raising the minimum wage by $2-$3 dollars an hour at once and see how many small local businesses go bankrupt. You obviously have no sense of the economy nd the way things work Dickie
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- Brett
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:38:29
20/hr? depends on the job. Lots of jobs are underpaid - esp when you need an educated/well trained work force. In the same vein, 20/hr in my mind is way too much for an uneducated work force (ie. no special skills to perform the job).
I think I wouldn't be able to go out for dinner ever if my waiter/waitress or hostess got $20/hr not including tips.
The price of your burger would go from $4.99 at McDonald's to $10-15 easily.
FYI - I'm a business owner - I thought the jump should have been right to $10 immediately. I filled it out in our information pamphlet. We pay more than minimum wage anyways. -
- teamplayer
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:54:03
These raises don't mean much anyway. When the businesses have to pay more for there staff where do you think those extra expenses are going to go? They will be passed back on to the consumer as the business owners are not going to shoulder that loss on their own. Wages go up 10%, well now your $2 loaf of bread costs $2.20, and so on and so on!!
-
- Gen X
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:53:00
Awesome! Maybe now some leaches on welfare can afford to start to work? I dont think it would make difference if the minimum wages were $20/hr, you'd still have 'Help Wanted' signs and people being too lazy to get off the couch.
-
- Bee
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:49:56
All of you, try running a small business, you will all change your tune. If I raise my prices, the competition and mainland are cheaper, I'll go out of business. Then what, no jobs to pay even minimum wages. Yes some businesses abuse the employees, but most are just making enough to survive, and that usually is working 10, 12, and more hours a day, some weekends, nights, and all the worry and government paper burden, regulations, business taxes, insurances, workers compensation, rrsp and u.i.c. payments, etc.etc.etc., I could go on and on, that part you don't see.
Try it someday. -
- Heather
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:46:39
Dickie - you are not even remotely close to being realistic.
-
- Jason
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:41:29
Remember when min wage was 5.50? I do, I was just coming out of high school and had my first Job at Sobey's. God i knew all the prices....items that were $0.49 then, are now $0.89....After 2010, they will be $0.99. People think they win when min wage goes up, but the big companies are not losing here people, it is people like you and me who have good paying jobs, who don't get these increases of 50 cents every 6 mos. If a company needs to recover an extra 10k a month in wage increases, they just add a few cents here and there. Something that was $0.69 today...is $0.79 tomorrow.
Ask someone who is working a min wage job for the last 7 years if they are any better now than they were 7 years ago. Most people will say no. -
- b
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:41:26
For the most part, minimum wage salaries are confined to entry level jobs which are generally filled by students with little or no experiance.
I myself worked for minimum wage when working summer jobs. I understood that I could not expect to earn that which a person with specialized job training would earn.
Legislating higher minimum wage will simply lead to employers passing that increase on to the consumer. It is for this reason that I am against a $10 minimum wage. -
- Whatever Bud
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:39:53
Im all for people earning a living wage,but this and further increases in the minimum wage is a death sentence for small business. The big businesses with their 10 year tax holidays/subsidized wages ,read:corporate welfare, will not suffer in the least.
-
- BA
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:38:15
Minimum wage jobs are not meant to be permanent in most cases. They are jobs that are usually held by students and people just starting out in the workforce. If you are still holding a minimum wage job 3 or 4 years after leaving school, then you may just need to re-think your level of education and training.
-
- Jack O
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:37:09
Okay, Seamus, would you be willing to work for minimum wage?
-
- DB
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:36:23
Any employer who's paying minimum wage isn't fit to work for. After all, what is minimum wage other than an employer saying that if he could pay you less, he would. Not exactly employee appreciation.
-
- Anon
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:36:07
Hey Danny, I got a better idea keep your dam minnimum wage hikes and give us some gasoline for cheaper! If saudi arabia can take stakes in their own oil revenues and pass on the savings to their citizens who pay almost nothing for gas compared to North America then why cant Newfoundland do the same thing?
If my tax dollars are going to help fund Nalcor then where is my share? Where are my savings on Electricity and Petrol? -
- Chad
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:33:23
At $10/hr, NL has the highest minimum wage rate in Canada. I believe that
is a great accomplishment for the province.
Dickie, I don't think a 100% increase in everyone's wage is very realistic. -
- Angelica
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:30:31
Good news for Darlene Neville.
-
- Flash
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:28:43
Looks like Dicky needs to move to Alberta or go back to school and become a DOCTOR
-
- Calvin
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:26:54
This is one issue I believe this government has messed up. If minimum wage increases do you think that the money to pay workers comes out of the employers pocket? Wrong, it comes out of the consumers pocket. If Sobeys (for example) has to pay all of their workers 50 cents more an hour do you think prices on dairy, beef and produce is going to remain where it is? No, it is going to go up because Sobeys still wants the same profit margins they had last year. And rent, it will go up with wages. The only problem is that someone getting paid $13 an hour does not get the same 50 cent an hour wage increase as the minimum wage employee, so their rent increases while they are still making $13 an hour. Clothes, electronics, gas..... the list of increased prices due to minimum wage increase goes on and on. If the government wants to set up a stable economy they need to introduce programs to do so. Rent control, free education, more reliable public transit, etc. will allow the government to obtain a more stable local economy. Everyone is going to jump down my throat saying Who is going to pay for all of this? Employers. If they were taxed to help provide some of the public services mentioned above then their prices may still incease, but at least that increase is helping the majority of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians rather than just barely helping the bottom of the barrel in the workforce.
-
- Need_To
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:24:22
Sounds great but what was our unemployment rate again here, 15 or 16%?
-
- bayman
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:20:58
I can see where some people are coming from in reference to a much higher minimum wage. With the amount of price gouging local businesses are guilty of, it's hard to justify NOT ordering things in from the mainland or overseas for yourself when you don't make very much money. It is soooo much cheaper after all all factors are taken into account. Local businesses shoot themselves in the feet and then go to the Telegram and start crying.
-
- jason
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:19:13
wow, so now for a 40 hour work week a person will bring home about 1200 a month before any deductions like medical or pension plans---- oh wait most employers dont pay any benefits of pension plans. So a one bedroom apartment is now $500 at the cheapest, and in another $200 for utilities( Heat,phone etc) Food now is far from cheap unless you want to eat unhealthy and have Mr noodles and hot dogs every day. At $10 a day for 3 meals thats $300 a month ( good luck eating all 3 meals for 10 bucks a day) so now you have 200 or less dollars to buy personal items( cloths, medication) and pay for some way to get to work if your not within walking distance. I ask small and large business owners out there, if you can afford to pay more than minimum wage and dont elect too than you should be ashamed of yourselfs. If you cant afford to pay minimum wage than you need to close shop and rethink your business.
-
- teamplayer
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:17:46
These raises don't mean much anyway. When the businesses have to pay more for there staff where do you think those extra expenses are going to go? They will be passed back on to the consumer as the business owners are not going to shoulder that loss on their own. Wages go up 10%, well now your $2 loaf of bread costs $2.20, and so on and so on!!
-
- Andrew
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:16:11
Lets not stop at $10! NL's workforce seems to be based off minimum wage. With no major jobs to attract people, this wage increase needs to be more!
-
- Yes
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:15:53
Oh that vicious circle.....$10.00 sounds pretty good........But back in the late 50's early 60's min wage was $0.75 - $0.90....a Spur Cola(made right here in NL) was 10c, a bag of chips(Scotties) was 5c, squares(Walshes) were 6c each, a quart of milk was 37c, a loaf of bread was 21c, a GALLON(4 1/2 litres) of gas was 43c.......Now all thes commodities have risen in cost about 10 to 12 times the cost......Now a Gallon of gas costs $4.90, 2 litres of milk(1.75~ quarts) cost................well up go wages ...then up goes everything else you consume.....nothing ever changes
-
- Dickie
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:15:05
minumum wage should be no less than $20/hr for anyone to survive in this province. Too much employer greed for things to ever change in Nfld!
-
- Seamus
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:14:32
Great attitude there, things go up but it is never enough. Let's try raising the minimum wage by $2-$3 dollars an hour at once and see how many small local businesses go bankrupt. You obviously have no sense of the economy nd the way things work Dickie
-
- Brett
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:13:17
20/hr? depends on the job. Lots of jobs are underpaid - esp when you need an educated/well trained work force. In the same vein, 20/hr in my mind is way too much for an uneducated work force (ie. no special skills to perform the job).
I think I wouldn't be able to go out for dinner ever if my waiter/waitress or hostess got $20/hr not including tips.
The price of your burger would go from $4.99 at McDonald's to $10-15 easily.
FYI - I'm a business owner - I thought the jump should have been right to $10 immediately. I filled it out in our information pamphlet. We pay more than minimum wage anyways.
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