Carl DeLine

Alberta’s raising its minimum wage Sept. 1 to $4.50 an hour–a move that was greeted Tuesday with a mix of delight, disappointment and relief.

The delight came from low-paid workers–many of them employed by fast-food outlets; the disappointment from advocates for the poor who felt the hike isn’t enough; and relief from the business sector which feared the hike would be more than the nearly 20 percent increase announced Tuesday.

The current minimum wage is $3.80 an hour.

For those under 18 who drop out of school to work, the government will also boost the minimum rate from $3.65 to $4.50. The minimum for working students under 18 rises to $4 from $3.30 an hour.

With Tuesday’s news only hours old, McDonald’s employee Randy Garnett already had plans for the extra cash.

“I need clothes bad and now I can go buy some,” said the ecstatic 22 year old.

“I feel great because it will help me pay the rent and bills,” said Garnett as he cleaned tables at a northeast McDonald’s outlet. “It’s been really tough.”

Fellow employee Denisa Newman, 16, was equally happy.

“That is fantastic, I really appreciate it,” said Newman, who now makes $3.30 an hour. “I will put it towards university fees.”

But McDonald’s officials suspect the 70 cent wage increase will likely come out of their customers’ pockets.

“My gut feeling is that retail prices will have to increase to offset this wage increase,” Ron Marcoux, executive vice-president of McDonald’s Canada said from Vancouver. “It is a big jump in pay.”

But several McDonald’s customers said they don’t mind having to pay more for a Big Mac.

“If that means we have to pay extra for our food, that’s fine,” said Roxanne Beaton. “I know people who are trying to make a living from minimum wage and it’s tough.”

The new rates, unchanged since 1981, mean Alberta will no longer have Canada’s lowest minimum wage. The province moves to the middle of the pack, with the Northwest Territories leading the nation at $5 an hour.

Labor Minister Ian Reid said the province can afford the increase because its economy is growing.

“I don’t think that many employees will be laid off because of this increase because those who are working have acquired skills,” Reid predicted.

He estimated fewer than one percent of the labor force earns the minimum wage, mostly workers in the retail and hospitality retain sector.

But Career Development Minister Rock Orman said he expects “some kind of impact” either through layoffs or cuts to the number of hours worked by some employees.

Reid defended delaying the increase until September, saying companies will need time to adjust to the new rate.

He acknowledged that students working this summer won’t get the benefit of the increase, but said some employers have already hired students on the understanding the minimum wage would be the same.

Spokesmen for organized labor and the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank welcomed the increase but criticized the size and its timing.

“I’m disappointed in the amount and that it didn’t come right away,” said Claudia Tennant, volunteer chairman of the food bank.

Tennant, who urged Premier Don Getty to raise the minimum wage when he toured the food bank three weeks ago, said she doubts it will affect the number of Calgarians who use the food bank.

“It’s still going to be very difficult to live on,” agreed food bank director Carl DeLine.

Dave Werlin, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, said the raise will still leave those near the minimum wage earning less than the poverty level.

Gail Gilcrest James, chairman of the National Council of Welfare, also wished the rate had been raised to the poverty level, which for a single person in Calgary is about $5.50 ab hour.

But she also said the hike will help the working poor.

Originally published April 20, 1988 by the Calgary Herald (Calgary, AB), credited to Howard Solomon.