VOL. 68 NO. 25
65 YEARS OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015
Minimum wage debate leaves businesses uncertain
Michael Simpson Editor Businesses just don’t know what’s going to happen, but they know what they must do. They know that when the minimum wage increases being proposed by the Province take effect, the first being a bump to $12 in the fall of this year, the way they’re used to doing business will have to change. By 2018, the full increase, a 47 per cent pay bump bringing minimum wage up to $15 an hour, will be in place. A survey of the majority of downtown businesses in Vegreville indicated that most felt they would not be able to pay staff the new minimum wage and
stay profitable – if they had staff. Many of the businesses downtown are run by families, a team of spouses or a parent/child combination, where arrangements can be more flexible with respect to pay. Hiring outside the family to expand the business or take time off however could be tricky, some business owners said. Outside of the classic mom ‘n pop setting, restaurants are viewing the increase as problematic however. According to data put forward by the Edmonton Journal, nearly a third of workers in the food and service industry are minimum wage workers. It will not be possible to keep prices the CONTINUED TO PAGE 16
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