PE: Two-tiered minimum wage debate rages on

[CHARLOTTETOWN, PE] — A heated and lengthy debate on government’s proposal to bring in a two-tiered minimum wage continued in Charlottetown on Friday.

The Standing Committee on Community and Intergovernmental Affairs has been hearing presentations on the concept of a differentiated wage for the past several weeks. 

In the fall, government changed P.E.I.’s laws to allow for more than one minimum wage rate. But it hasn’t decided whether to implement the change.

On Friday, the Canadian Restaurant Food Services Association argued a two-tiered minimum wage would bring more jobs to P.E.I.

Association representative Luc Erjavec said many of the Island’s food service employers have lost money due to recent minimum wage increases. Coupled with losses due to the economic recession, many employers are struggling to survive.

“To put this in context, a 50-cent increase in minimum wage, which is what most provinces in Atlantic Canada are doing this year, means $2.3 million in new costs for food service operators — about $7,000 for the average operator,” Erjavec said.

These increased costs have placed a tremendous financial burden on a number of employers, he said.

That’s why the food service association is advocating a two-tiered wage rate for regular workers and a lower minimum wage for liquor servers.

The Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce also spoke in favour Friday of the proposed wage changes.

Chamber past president Doug Coles echoed Erjavec’s concern over the provincial minimum wage increases, saying these have pressed the need for a legislated tiered system for wages.

“Each time the minimum wage increases, it shrinks the gap between minimum wage workers and the wages paid to more skilled workers, driving up their wages which subsequently impacts the employers’ bottom line,” Coles said.

The chamber wants to see a three-tiered wage system established that would see lower wages paid to employees in training, another wage for inexperienced workers under the age of 18 and higher wage for experienced employees.

Leo Broderick of the Council of Canadians, criticized the fact government passed the legislation allowing a two-tiered minimum without first going to public consultation.

“This really is backwards. We should have had the opportunity to have input before the legislation was actually passed.”