>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) >Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002 10:40:46 -0500 >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >From: Progressive Economics Forum <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: PEF: Lowering the minimum wage in N.S.? >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Status: > > Dear PEF Members and Friends; > > Using all kinds of mumbo-jumbo about "flexible" labour markets, the N.S. >government is pondering a reduction in the minimum wage for certain >categories of workers (following the example set recently by B.C.'s Gordon >Campbell). Anyone with research or resources on the effects of minimum >wage policies on poverty, employment, and other indicators is invited to >pass them along for distribution to the whole PEF network. > > > >Subject: Province of NS mulls drop in minimum wage > > This article appeared in the Saturday, Febuary 2nd edition of the Halifax >Herald. Please pass this information on to your contacts - this can't be >permitted to happen! This will not only impact low-income people who >struggle to survey each day on low wages and social assistance, but this >will significantly impact the labour rights of all workers. > > Province mulls drop in minimum wage > Workers who earn tips may face cuts > By Amy Smith / Provincial Reporter > > The Hamm government wants to know whether Nova Scotia's minimum wage - >the second-lowest in the country - should be even lower for some workers. > > The Labour Department has set up a Web site survey, asking Nova Scotians >what they think about the minimum wage, which is now $5.80 per hour. > > One of the questions is whether employees who get tips should receive a >lower minimum wage. > > "Some want things to go up, some want things to go down," Labour Minister >David Morse said Friday. > > "We have just asked for input from a broad range of stakeholders." > > The survey also asks how much lower people think the rate should be - 50 >cents to over $2 less than the current wage. > > Myra Fairfax, a waitress for 20 years, said the idea of rolling back the >minimum wage for workers in her industry is "asinine." > > "People get bonuses. Should they get a cut in pay because they get a >bonus?" asked Ms. Fairfax, who works at the Economy Shoe Shop in Halifax. > > "I think it's totally unfair. Let them try and see how far they get." > > Luc Erjavec of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association said >his organization supports the idea of a different basic wage for those who >make most of their salary through tips. > > Mr. Erjavec said the wage shouldn't be rolled back, but any new increase >should be withheld from people in the service industry who serve alcohol. > > "I wouldn't see (a cut) for the person who works at the counter at Tim >Hortons," he said. > > Other areas, including Ontario, have used a variable rate with success, >Mr. Erjavec said. > > MLA Kevin Deveaux, a New Democrat, said the survey is an insult to >working Nova Scotians. > > He said it's obvious the questionnaire is designed to gauge public >opinion on cutting the minimum wage. > > "Hopefully his survey will not be taken seriously," he said Friday. > > Liberal MLA Russell MacKinnon said a rollback would destroy the stability >of workers in the service industry. > > "The whole idea of minimum wage is to ensure there would be a minimum >level of income," said Mr. MacKinnon, who was labour minister in the >government of Russell MacLellan. > > If the wage is increased, the survey asks, should it be done over a >three-year period? > > It also asks whether employers should be allowed to pay people at a rate >for inexperienced workers or trainees - 45 cents less than the current >rate - for longer than three months. Or should all employees be entitled >to the same minimum wage? > > The questionnaire wants Nova Scotians to express their views on whether >their minimum wage should be comparable to those elsewhere in Atlantic >Canada or to rates across Canada. > > Newfoundland has the lowest minimum wage in Canada, at $5.50, but it's >slated to rise to $5.75 in May and to $6 in November. > > Prince Edward island raised the rate to $6 from $5.80 on Jan. 1. > > Nova Scotia hiked its minimum wage by 10 cents in October 2001. The raise >was the third of yearly10-cent increases that started in October 1999. > > British Columbia has the country's highest minimum wage, at $8. > > The survey is accessible through ><http://www.gov.ns.ca/enla/labstand>www.gov.ns.ca/enla/labstand or by >calling the Labour Standards Division at 424-4311. Forms can be mailed >to: Department of Environment and Labour, Labour Standards Division, P.O. >Box 697, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2T8. > > Responses must be received by March 1. > > "We certainly welcome anybody who wants to make a submission," Mr. Morse >said. > > "I think that the working people are given a chance through the process >to make their case." > > >
