Here’s a roundup of some recent analysis on a higher minimum wage:
Broadbent Institute fellow and economist Angella MacEwan has done some mythbusting about who low paid workers are. She notes that a majority of workers earning less than $15 per hour are over 25 years old. More than a third are women aged 25 to 64. And 80 per cent of them are not students.
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UBC economist David Green explains why it makes good economic sense to increase the minimum wage to $15. Higher minimum wage leads to lower turnover rates, which creates more stability for both workers and employers, reducing costs.
Find the report at policyalternatives.ca
RankandFile.ca has assembled a reader on the Fight for 15 with stories from across the country.
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Unfortunately, even $15 per hour is no longer enough to make ends meet in a big city like Toronto, where Kaylie Theissen of CCPA-Ontario calculates the living wage to be $18.52/hour.
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CUPE is also committed to a higher minimum wage. At the 2013 CUPE National Convention, delegates voted to bring the wages of the lowest paid CUPE members up to a minimum rate of $18 per hour by 2018—an increase that would raise the standard for all workers.