FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 1998
AFL urges Tories to "listen to Albertans" who want something done about low wages
EDMONTON – The Alberta government should "listen to the will of Albertans" and immediately increase the province's minimum wage, says Audrey Cormack, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. Cormack was responding to the results of a government-sponsored survey that asked Albertans from around the province for their opinion on possible changes to the Employment Standards Code. The questionnaire was distributed to about 7,000 employers, unions and individual Albertans between January and April. A summary of responses to the survey was released at a public meeting at the Legislature this afternoon. Of the 700 individuals and organizations who responded to the questionnaire, 97 per cent said Alberta still needs a minimum wage and 86 per cent said they think the current minimum of $5 per hour for adults and $4.50 per hour for youth is inadequate. Members of the government's influential standing committee on financial management listened to the results of the survey and promised to make a recommendation to cabinet in the next few days on whether or not the minimum wage should be increased. Cormack said the standing committee – which includes powerful cabinet ministers like Treasurer Stockwell Day and Labour Minister Murray Smith – should see the survey as proof that the time has come to increase the minimum wage. "Based on the responses, it's clear than the majority of Alberta employers and workers want the government to do something about low wages in this province," said Cormack. "I think the committee and the cabinet have a responsibility to act and to act quickly." Based on research done by the AFL, Cormack says the minimum wage in Alberta should be raised to $7.85 per hour. That would give a minimum wage earner working 40 hours a week enough money to live above the poverty line. "A token increase in the minimum wage of 15 or 25 cents an hour will not be enough," says Cormack. "The real value of the minimum wage in Alberta has been eroded by nearly 40 per cent over the past 20 years. As a result we need a substantial increase. Anything less than a minimum wage of $7.85 an hour will still leave too many working Albertans below the poverty line. It's time that Alberta's minimum wage was actually a living wage." Cormack also said the minimum wage should be indexed to inflation -- so we never again have to worry about rampant poverty among low-wage workers.
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