Workers are encouraged to weigh in on a proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage at a public hearing today.
The independent Fair Wages Commission, set up by the B.C. government in October, wants to hear from people earning less than $15 an hour and employers on how the minimum wage affects them.
The commission hopes to hear from employers and workers who can talk about the minimum-wage rates for farm workers, liquor servers, live-in home support workers, resident caretakers and live-in camp leaders, the Ministry of Labour said in a press release.
The public meeting takes place at the Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel at 146 Kingston St. between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Members of the public are invited to make presentations to the commission, and are encouraged to email FWC@gov.bc.ca to book a time.
The minimum wage increased to $11.35 on Sept. 15, moving B.C. to third place among the provinces, behind Ontario and Alberta.
The NDP government campaigned on a promise of a $15 minimum wage by 2021, but instead set up an advisory body to collect information.
The three-person commission will consult with businesses, unions and economists and will report to the B.C. government early next year on the best way to achieve a $15-an-hour minimum wage. It will also explore the discrepancy between the minimum wage and the living wage — defined as the hourly amount that two parents, working full time, require to support a family of four.
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, an economist and professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University, chairs the commission, which also includes Ken Peacock, vice-president of the B.C. Business Council, and Ivan Limpright, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
