A delegation on the Living Wage was received by Council at the Jan 10, 2011 meeting. Councillors were enthusiastic in their reception of this presentation and praised those with this kind of social conscience. Denise Palleson was interested in how small business could help. Mayor Manjak commented he felt some councillors would be able to attend the February 14th public meeting on this topic although he would be away.
As the wage standards of BC reached the national news yesterday this article submitted by Sharon Cross becomes even more relevant.
Having worked in the community with people wanting to improve their employability levels, I decided to attend the “Living Wage Forum” on February 14th. A group of approximately twenty people attended. Most were from the social services sector, three from the public (myself included), nobody from the business sector, and a City Councillor dropped by for about twenty minutes.
In one of our exercises we allocated various yearly incomes to the expenses that a family (with two adults working, and two children aged 4 and 7) would incur. There were four scenarios:
- At $8/hr., after tax and transfer our yearly income is $44,846.00
- At $10/hr. the yearly income is $47,426.00
- At $20/hr. the yearly income is $60,326.00
- At $30/hr. the yearly income is $73,225.00
Our group worked on the $8/hr. (two people earning that wage, with two children). To make ends meet we had to cut the bus pass, feeling it was important to keep the vehicle, especially with two children. Miscellaneous expenses were cut nearly in half. We cut after school care for the 7 year old child from 3,000/yr. to $500/yr. We reduced our emergency savings to $1,000 per year. We chopped parent education totally. There was no money for savings or debt repayment, or vacation, or entertainment.
Imagine the social pressure, not to mention the internal family pressures that could literally tear the fabric of a family apart causing additional hardships. What would happen if any one of them became ill or disabled?
There is a formula that has been applied in various communities to arrive at what would be considered a wage that people could live with. In Cranbrook, this wage has been identified as $14.16/hr. in order to support two people earning that wage in a household with two children. The cost of living in BC is one of the highest.
In other communities that have undertaken a similar exercise, employers have become very creative in identifying ways and means of supporting their workers in alternative ways than wages. The City of Victoria created the Quality of Life Challenge and came up with a booklet of their process and successes. View it here: http://www.qolchallenge.ca/pdf/QoLC_Phase_1_%20complete_book.pdf
Because the business community works differently from non-profits or government, the diversity of opinions and creative solutions become far greater than that of a single point of view when all groups participate. A shared commitment to a vision, with respect for varying needs, results in the type of leadership that communities need to meet these types of challenges.
When we can lift people up and improve their quality of life, we lift up our entire community, and everyone benefits. The investment in our community is worth it.
Are we up for the challenge, Cranbrook? If so, the next meeting of this group of committed community-minded individuals is March 3 from 10a.m –12noon at the Family Centre (the building by the skateboard park.) You can contact them by e-mail at: livingwagecranbrook@gmail.com
Editorial Note
It would be great to see some members of the business community attend the next session. To assist in securing existing economy and gain new ideas for making Cranbrook a welcoming place business owners are needed in this process. As a post note and having read this article, these ideas (which could posibly be used as wage equivalents) come to mind; there are bound to be more.
- provision of over work living space at reduced rent
- lower cost rental unit provided with the job
- having tenants or employees provide security, cleaning or work in kind in lieu of rent or for extra wages
- availability of a work vehicle that could be used for family emergencies on an as need basis
- staggered/ flexible hours of work
- equipment provided to enable work at home
- child care provided, especially in businesses which have multiple employees and space available. Child care costs could be shared by employees.
- first dibs on left over food or discarded produce
- food products at cost or discount
- in house lunch supply
- provision of bicycles for delivery, errand efficiency or transportation
- holiday bonus for work excellence
- company cottage or condo made available to employees
- clothing allowance for certain jobs (large quantities could be obtained at cheaper rates)
- provision for job sharing
- bus passes provided with job( acquired at a discount in cooperation with a municipality)
- entertainment ticket in house lotto/ incentives each month, (hockey, theatre, movie, dinners etc)
Who did the math on these yearly earnings. I worked it out on my calculator and at $10.25 x40 hrs per wk. =$1,640 per month x12 months in a year = $19,680. and that is before taxes and other deductions. Two full time workers would make $39,360. before taxes and other deductions. and this is making $10.25 per hour.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope someone activates this rally for a Living Wage for All Canadians, not only for those raising children, because it was people like me who raised some of those children. Thank Goodness my four grown adult children are not struggling the way I did expecially as a single mother of four part of the time. People who have raised their families and are mid to elderly need to live Too
USED SOME, BUT NOT USELESS!!!!!