THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay is being asked to sign on to a living wage campaign, endorsing the concept that local workers should be paid at least $16.21 an hour.
If the city agrees to the request from the Lakehead Social Planning Council (LSPC), its commitment would be largely symbolic – it already pays full-time permanent employees more than that, and wouldn’t be required to extend the policy to part-time and casual workers, some of whom make minimum wage.
Still, the endorsement would be significant for the local living wage campaign, said LSPC social researcher Bonnie Krysowaty during a presentation to city council Monday night.
The campaign has signed up a handful of local employers so far, and is hoping to bring more companies on board this year.
The LSPC works with the Ontario Living Wage Network and other researchers to calculate the local living wage, considering factors like the cost of food, childcare, rent or mortgage, a bus pass or car payments, and insurance.
The living wage is different in each community, ranging from $16.16 in Sault Ste. Marie to $22.08 in Toronto. Thunder Bay's $16.21 figure is calculated based on the local cost of living for a family of four, with two parents working full-time.
The math shows Ontario’s minimum wage of $14.25 is vastly insufficient, Krysowaty argued.
“The minimum wage is just not a fair wage,” she said Monday. “We know that amount isn’t enough to cover basic expenses and stay healthy in the community”
The fact that some full-time workers still struggle to pay their bills is unacceptable, she said.
“Some employers say they can’t afford to pay their employees a living wage,” she said. “Our response to that… is that it’s not ethical to pay people a wage where they can’t meet the social determinants of health, when we live in Canada.”
Several councillors voiced appreciation for the campaign Monday night, though none explicitly said they’d support the city signing on.
“All Canadians in this country deserve a good living,” said Coun. Peng You.
“There are people that struggle in this community, and providing a living wage certainly goes a long way to assist in that,” said Coun. Kristen Oliver
Oliver requested more information on the potential benefits of offering a living wage, with Krysowaty promising to send peer-reviewed data.
Boosting earnings for low-wage workers would come with myriad benefits, she argued, saying that poverty ultimately creates massive costs for society.
For employers, higher wages lead to less turnover and absenteeism, savings on hiring and training, and productivity gains, she told councillors.
Meanwhile, workers paid a living wage are able to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, participate more actively in society, see more positive health outcomes, and pursue education.
The living wage policy would also bring societal benefits, she said, boosting consumer spending and reducing public costs for social services and health care.
The Kinna Aweya Legal Clinic, Wequedong Lodge, ITEC 2000, and Brick Host have so far signed on as living wage employers, in addition to the LSPC itself.
Employers are encouraged to proceed to the second level in the campaign by paying all employees, including part-time and casual, the living wage.
“A living wage should be paid to everybody,” she said, including students and youth, who are often saving for post-secondary or moving into their own residence for the first time.
Organizations can also become “champions” of the living wage campaign by requiring outside companies like contractors and caterers to offer a living wage to their own employees.
Krysowaty said she’s “very optimistic” about the local campaign’s future after numerous employers joined in recent weeks, noting another company is on the verge of signing on.
However, she acknowledged the campaign seeks a major shift, and change is likely to be gradual.
