Living Wage Calculation for 2020 Moves to November Amid COVID-19 Crisis

BC’s 170 Living Wage Employers and applicants for certification have been advised that the Living Wage for Families Campaign has shifted the annual calculation of a new living wage for 2020 from May to November to better align our work with living wage campaigns in other parts of Canada and Living Wage Week celebrated in other countries.

Employers who were certified in 2018 or earlier are asked to hold at the 2018 rate of $20.91 in Metro Vancouver, and other local wage rates. There was a small dip in 2019 as a result of increased childcare benefits, but we were not convinced that decreased rate would be maintained, as housing prices continue to escalate. Employers who were certified at the 2019 rate are also asked to hold at that rate.  

The Campaign is aware that many employers are experiencing challenges and uncertainties since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The uncertainties and emergency government policy responses to the crisis may affect the calculation of a 2020 living wage rate that accurately takes into account family expenses and offsetting benefits.

The COVID-19 crisis has also magnified the importance of achieving living wages for all, whether for workers identified as essential during this crisis or those whose low wages and precarious work have left them without a buffer in the face of acute income insecurity at this time.  The case has never been stronger for paying living wages to all workers.

Stay tuned for further campaign updates in the fall of this year, as the we reflect on these impacts and plan the Campaign’s work going forward. Our thanks to everyone working to support community health and wellness through decent pay and family-supporting wages, especially during the current crisis.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions. We may be a little slow in responding as we have been without a Campaign Organizer for a few months now. However, we will have a new organizer in place by June 1^st.