More Wages Please

[OpenMike]

Larry Nicolay, president of the Tofino chamber and a restaurant owner, said yesterday that most businesses in his Vancouver Island town are already paying well above the minimum wage. "We feel it is part of building a stronger economy, putting more money in people's pockets," he said. "But it's also a social-justice issue - society is only as strong as its weakest member."

He said some staff at his Rain Coast Café earn $19 an hour, while others earn minimum wage plus tips. He said he wouldn't have a problem paying higher wages. "I think it sends a message and sets a standard."



LABOUR DISPUTE: AERIAL BANNER PROMOTES '$10 NOW'

Group raises stakes in minimum-wage fight
'We're going after cabinet ministers in their ridings,' B.C. Federation of Labour president vows
JUSTINE HUNTER

September 4, 2007

VICTORIA -- Emboldened by support from more than two dozen municipal governments and even some businesses, the B.C. Federation of Labour vowed yesterday to ramp up its campaign to raise B.C.'s minimum wage by 25 per cent.

Six years ago, the province's Liberal government created a new lower class for wage earners, the $6-an-hour training wage, while the regular minimum wage has remained frozen at $8 an hour.



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