By Julie Black

In the fall of 1997, the Alberta government began publicly discussing minimum wage legislation. At $4.50/hr for youth under 18 and $5/hr for adults, the minimum wage has been an outrage to Alberta human rights activists who decry both the low level and the double standard of a youth wage.

The government announced that all options were being considered – from raising or lowering the wage, to eliminating minimum wage protection altogether. Suddenly the embarrassment of the lowest wage in the country shrank in comparison with the possibility of no minimum wage protection at all.

"Isn’t Alberta the richest province? Shouldn’t they have the highest minimum wage?"
- Alberta woman

Living on the Minimum Wage

Given that 70% of Alberta’s minimum wage earners are women, Calgary Status of Women Action Committee decided to intervene Unlike the Alberta government, we actually talked with women working on, below or just above the minimum wage to find out how changes to the wage might effect their lives.

In focus groups with 50 women throughout Southern Alberta, we heard that minimum wage workers are scrambling to earn enough to pay their bills. Juggling several part-time jobs, women working on minimum wage are sacrificing time with their children and their hopes for the future, simply trying to cope with the present. Alberta social assistance programs demand that they work their way out of their low-income, but the low minimum wage means that most cannot.

Here are some voices of Alberta women working on, below or just above the $5/hour minimum wage:

"I’ve lived on nothing. I was going to school to learn computers, but since I was capable of working for $5/hour, social services cut me off. My kids and I went for months without hot water. I was struggling to keep things ‘normal’ so people didn’t know. In the end, it all fell apart. I was living on $200/month with three kids."

"I just got another part-time job and I’m glad it’s a paper route because that’s when I get to spend quality time with my son."

[translation:] "She works as a cleaner in an office, and it’s too hard for the money. And when you don’t speak English, it’s worse. It’s really heavy work, and for the amount she has to pay for the children, it’s not worth it. Some days she works, she ends up in debt."

"I water down the milk so that one glass makes three."

Working Conditions: Low pay is only part of the problem.

"Where I work, people are quitting their positions. It’s so bad! I couldn’t keep up, I didn’t have time to do my homework. We are so understaffed, I would have been fired but they need me. I ask for time off for school – they don’t like that. The head manager gets mad … Then when the customer yells, the manager yells. Calling people stupid …"

"When I apply for a job, I don’t put down that I’m Native."

"A lot of time it’s the name. They look at the name and they put the application away."

"I had a bad experience with UIC. I went to apply for a course in customer service at [a local agency]. But UIC didn’t agree. I told UIC that I wanted to improve my English and my writing and get a better job, but they told me I had enough English since I managed house cleaning. And I said, but I didn’t need to talk!"

No Real Choices: Poverty or Abuse?

"You ask why so many women go back. We go back for the children. We can take the abuse, but we don’t want our children to do without. We think if we only try harder to get things right ..."

"I had an appointment with a financial benefits worker because my job ended and I have two kids. She said, ‘Don’t you think you should have thought about this before you got divorced?’ Well, I left an abusive husband!"

Little Hope for the Future

"I worked as a teacher in my country. I came to the day care hoping I could go back to school, but I cannot, I’m stuck."

Results of the Government’s Review

In order to solicit public opinion, the government released the Employment Standards Regulation Review questionnaire in January 1998. Luckily for minimum wage earners, most of the Albertans who responded to the review supported keeping minimum wage protection and even recommended that the wage be increased.

Subsequently, in July 1998, the government announced a gradual raise in the minimum wage:

Oct 1, 1998: eliminate the youth wage, raise wage from $5 to $5.40/hour

April 1, 1999: raise wage to $5.65/hour

Oct 1, 1999: raise wage to $5.90/hour

So is this a victory for those who care about human rights?

Yes, in that we kept minimum wage legislation and got rid of the youth wage.

No. $5.90/hour is still not enough.

No. We can’t risk legislation by popular vote. Given that the government did nothing to ensure the diversity of opinions were represented, the results could easily have been different. Judging from the women with whom we spoke, most minimum wage earners in Alberta are so politically disenfranchised they never heard about the minimum wage debate. This may have meant fewer sleepless nights, but it gave no chance to influence the decisions.

The Raising of the Minimum Wage - $5.90 is not enough

INCOME

At $5/hour, the before-tax income of an adult working full-time is only $10,400 per year or $867 per month. At $5.90/hour, the increase will only be to $12,272 per year or $1,022 month. Those working part-time, temporary or casual jobs will take home considerably less.

EXPENSES

In 1997, the National Council of Welfare set the low-income mark for single persons in Edmonton and Calgary at $16,318 per year. To meet this cut-off point, a single person would have to earn $7.85/hour and work full-time.

The City of Calgary estimates even higher. "A single worker supporting herself would need to earn $8.24 an hour at a full time full year job to reach the low income cut off; while a parent supporting one child would need to earn $10.30 an hour."

Such figures may seem a big jump from $5/hour, but as Jim Selby of Labour News has noted, Alberta’s 1977 minimum wage of $3/hr translates into over $8/hr in 1998 dollars. The minimum wage needs to be increased and also indexed to inflation so it never again falls so low in real terms.

Alberta minimum wage workers are still not getting paid a living wage.

To Work Towards a Better Future:

Women in our survey said they needed:

• An increased minimum wage, to at least $8/hour. "Enough to cover the basic needs. To live."
• Steady and reliable working hours.
• Recognition that minimum wage jobs play a valuable role in our society.
• Upgrading, education; grants not loans
• Education to recognize, stop and heal from abuse
• Affordable and accessible day care; with day care providers being paid a decent wage
• Coverage for health care premiums
• Dignity and respect – from bosses and social service workers
• Recognition for foreign qualifications
• More secure housing at a reasonable cost

How You Can Help

Make one phone call.

Call your MLA, opposition leaders or Ralph Klein (427-2251), Minister of Labour Murray Smith (427-3664) or Minister for Family and Social Services Lyle Oberg (427-2606).

Participate!
Watch out for consultations and participate. If you think the process is flawed, protest!

Support
Support ongoing efforts of groups and agencies. Get involved in preparing for the World March of Women in the Year 2000.

Reach Out
If you are dealing with a low income, contact local groups about community programming. You might find employment counselling, collective kitchens, communal gardening, and counsellors who can advocate for you with social assistance.

"I can’t tell you how many millionaires started out with minimum wage jobs."
- Ontario Premier Mike Harris

"Our vision: Alberta’s prosperity requires an effective labour relations framework; safe and healthy workplaces; and high standards in employment practices and safety service."
Alberta Labour’s Annual Report, 1997-98

"I have four part-time jobs and a baby! I feel guilty because I can’t spend time with him. The government has no respect for children and mothers, the opposite of ‘family values.’"

For a copy of the complete report, contact:
Calgary Status of Women Action Committee, #302 501 18 Avenue SW, Calgary T2S 0C7
Phone (403) 209-3232; email cswac@cadvision.com, web site www.mycalgary.com/cswac