Minimum wage workers in Manitoba should expect a bump twice this year, the province said Wednesday.
The wage, which is currently $13.50 an hour, will go up to $14.15 an hour in April and again to $15.30 an hour in October.
Labour Minister Jon Reyes said the changes are expected to put Manitoba’s minimum wage in the top tier among provinces.
Currently, only Saskatchewan’s minimum wage is lower.
“Recognizing the exceptional financial challenges facing Manitobans, our government passed legislative amendments to the Employment Standards Code that, in prescribed circumstances, allow minimum wage to be increased by an additional amount above the legislated inflation-tied formula,” Reyes said in a statement.
“To balance the financial realities of Manitoba workers and the economic challenges for small businesses, we implemented a phased-in approach that will help more Manitobans get ahead.”
In a statement Wednesday morning, Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said the changes still won’t make Manitoba’s minimum wage a living wage.
“Rising prices at the grocery store and in the cost of housing are making it harder for working families to make ends meet, and these high costs are hitting low-income workers the hardest,” he said.
“Today’s announcement means that our minimum wage will still fall $3 short of a living wage, which is the wage workers need to earn to meet their basic needs.
“The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba has calculated that the living wage is $18.34 in Winnipeg. That means that even after the minimum wage increases to $15.30 in October, there will be people who work full-time but still live in poverty in Manitoba.”
Rebeck attributed the lack of movement on minimum wage increases to two successive Progressive Conservative governments in Manitoba.