RELEASE: Indexation not enough to bring working families out of poverty
(Guelph, Ontario) - The Raise the Minimum Wage campaign in the city of Guelph is deeply concerned with today’s release of the Ontario Minimum Wage Advisory Panel’s recommendations. This concern comes from the fact that the report makes no recommendations that would bring working Ontarians out of poverty.
“Since the beginning, minimum wage workers, anti-poverty groups, unions and community organizations have been demanding that the minimum wage be increased to $14.” said Guelph Raise the Wage organizer Denise Martins. “This number was carefully calculated as the minimum amount necessary to lift workers above the poverty line. This demand was also coupled with the recommendation that the $14 must be indexed to cost of living. Although we commend the panel’s intentions in agreeing to index the minimum wage, and we see it as a victory for the thousands of Ontarians that have been raising their voice around this issue, it simply does not solve the problems of working people living in poverty.”
