B.C. minimum wage set to rise above $15 an hour June 1

Wages for British Columbia's lowest paid workers are on their way up in June with the minimum wage breaking the $15 an hour mark.

The province's minimum wage is set to rise by $0.60 to $15.20 an hour from the present $14.60 an hour on June 1, according to the B.C. government.

The province established a fair wages commission to recommend a fair and predictable path to a $15 an hour general minimum wage. It suggested a series of four minimum wage increases to take B.C.’s lowest paid workers to $15 an hour by 2021.

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The province says future increases to the minimum wage, starting next year, will be based on the rate of inflation to provide predictability.

The first increase took place, June 1, 2018, with a $1.30 increase bringing the minimum wage to $12.65.

On June 1, 2019, a further $1.20 was added, bringing the minimum wage to $13.85, and on June 1, 2020, an additional $0.75 was added, bringing the rate to $14.60.

The increase on June 1 this year is expected to impact close to 400,000 B.C. workers with just over 20 per cent of the labour force making minimum wage, and of those, 62 per cent are women.

For more information on the minimum wage, and alternate minimum wages, check out this B.C. government web page.

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