Mixed reactions to Alberta’s minimum wage hike
Posted Oct 1, 2018 12:30 pm.
Last Updated Oct 1, 2018 12:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Minimum wage in Alberta has risen to $15, but the hike isn’t sitting well with everyone.
Restaurants Canada said the increase is going to put more stress on businesses in the food services industry.
“Alberta’s $15 minimum wage experiment is too much, came too fast, and came exactly at the wrong time, when we’re going through a recession,” Mark von Schellwitz, vice president of western Canada for Restaurants Canada, said.
Schellwitz adds 13,300 jobs have been lost in the restaurant industry over the last three years and the change will put even more stress on owners.
“You know, it’s not easy for these guys to lay off someone that’s been with them for 19-20 years, but the combination of these cost increases in a recession with minimum wage just being too much, too fast, and coming at exactly the wrong time has shattered a lot of dreams and cost a lot of employees in our industry their job, and that’s unfortunate,” Schellwitz said.
Meanwhile, the Calgary & District Labour Council is happy about the change.
“I think for over 100,000 Calgarians, this means a raise for them so that they can afford to pay rent, so that they can live with some dignity” Alexander Schevalier, president of the labour council, said.
The number of Calgarians who were making under $15 before the hike came into effect was 17.9 per cent.
