Island workers earn average weekly wages of just $644.32
Charlottetown (6 Aug. 2008) - The P.E.I. Federation of Labour is calling for an immediate raise in the Island minimum wage following a report that shows Island workers have the lowest wages in Canada.
A Statistics Canada report says average weekly wages on P.E.I. total only $644.32, well behind the national average of $791.48. The Island rate rose only 2.2% during the year, compared to 3.1% nationally.
Federation president Carl Pursey says the government should raise the minimum wage immediately to $10 an hour. If it doesn't, employers will find it harder and harder to attract workers, he adds. The current P.E.I. minimum wage is $7.75 an hour. A 25-cent increase is scheduled for October.
"They almost have to do it (raise the rate to $10) because people are leaving and there's going to be no workers left," Pursey said. "With the cost of everything going up, the cost of oil and gas and everything else, people just can't live on anything under $10 an hour; it's even hard to live on $10 an hour."
The highest average weekly wages were in Alberta ($864.28) and the Northwest Territories ($1,010.70).
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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