Edmonton Social Planning Council

Category: Labour: Policy

  • Edmonton’s 2016 living wage: $16.69 per hour

    Edmonton’s 2016 living wage: $16.69 per hour

    Edmonton Social Planning Council releases annual report

    By: Alex Boyd Metro Published on Thu Jun 23 2016

    Two working adults living in the city with two kids would each have to make $16.69 an hour in order to make ends meet, according to the Edmonton Living Wage Report released Thursday.
    The Edmonton Social Planning Council calculates the living wage every year, using cost of living estimates for Edmonton. They also take into account dollars coming in from government transfers and additional costs like EI and CPP premiums.

    The living wage for 2016 is actually 67 cents less than last year, because of child benefit increases from both the federal and provincial governments.

    “Our hope is that more Edmonton employers will rise to the challenge and commit to paying a living wage to all their employees,” said ESPC Research Coordinator John Kolkman in a release.
    “Research indicates that employers paying a living wage benefit from decreased staff turnover, improved productivity and reduced absenteeism.”

    Read the whole article on the Metro.

    Download our Living wage report.

     

  • Edmonton’s 2016 living wage calculated to be $16.69 per hour

    June 23, 2016
    For Immediate Release

    Edmonton’s 2016 living wage calculated to be $16.69 per hour

    The Edmonton Social Planning Council estimates that two working adults, caring for two children, would need to each earn $16.69 per hour in 2016 to meet their basic needs.

    The living wage is calculated using detailed financial accounting based on actual Edmonton living costs with government transfers added in, and EI and CPP premiums and federal and provincial income taxes deducted.

    Edmonton’s living wage dropped by $0.67 per hour in the past year. The decrease is almost entirely due to increases in benefits from the federal and provincial governments.

    “Starting in July 2016, this Edmonton family of four will receive an additional $239 per month from the new Canada Child Benefit compared to the previous child benefits plan. This family will also receive an additional $44 per month starting in July from enhancements made to the Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit,” said ESPC Research Coordinator John Kolkman.

    While a minimum wage reflects the hourly wage employers must legally pay their employees, a living wage represents the hourly wage needed to maintain a modest standard of living in a specific community.

    “With the significant increases in child benefits contributing to a reduced level of living wage, our hope is that more Edmonton employers will rise to the challenge and commit to paying a living wage to all their employees. Research indicates that employers paying a living wage benefit from decreased staff turnover, improved productivity and reduced absenteeism,” noted Kolkman.

    The City of Edmonton’s End Poverty in Edmonton report specifically lists advocating for living wages for Edmontonians as a priority. “In the coming year, we plan to work with the City and community partners to recognize employers who provide living wages, and challenge others to do so as well,” Kolkman concluded.

    For more information:
    John Kolkman, ESPC Research Coordinator
    (587)989-4442
    jkolkman@edmontonsocialplanning.ca

    More than Minimum: Edmonton's Living Wage Report: 2016 Update, and a fACT Sheet on the minimum wage, are available at https://edmontonsocialplanning.ca/.

    Information about living wage calculations in other Canadian cities available at: http://www.livingwagecanada.ca/

     

  • fACT Sheet—Minimum Wage

    What is minimum wage? Who works at minimum wage? What effect does a raise in minimum wage have on employers? Employees? What's up with the magic number of $15/h? And, what's the difference between a living wage and a minimum wage? All this and more in our latest fACT Sheet!

    Download the Minimum Wage fACT Sheet today!

     

  • Non profit calculates living wage

    630 CHED – July 1, 2015

    Click here to view the full article.

  • 1985 September Counting The Costs

    Title:Counting the costs: a literature review of the social and psychological costs of unemployment.
    Author(s):Sykes, Barbara|split|Dembicki, Henry|split|Faid, Peter
    Subject:Unemployment – social costs
    Publisher:Edmonton Social Planning Council
    Place of Publication:Edmonton
    Date of Publication:1985
    Language:English
    Material Type:Report

    H. LABOUR/H.01 POLICY/1985 September Counting The Costs.pdf

  • 2011 Colour Coded Labour Market

     

    Title:Canada’s colour coded labour market: the gap for racialized workers.
    Author(s):Block, Sheila|split|Galabuzi, Grace-Edward
    Subject:Immigration – employment, foreign qualifications|split|Employment – general|split|Racism
    Publisher:Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
    Wellesley Institute
    Place of Publication:Ottawa
    Date of Publication:2011
    Abstract:

    Despite an increasingly diverse population, a new report on Canada’s racialized income gap shows a colour code is still at work in Canada’s labour market.
    Canada’s Colour Coded Labour Market, co-produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Wellesley Institute, draws on 2006 Census data to compare work and income trends among racialized and non-racialized Canadians. It’s among the more comprehensive post-Census studies on this issue to date.

    Language:English
    Series:Growing Gap
    Material Type:Report

    H. LABOUR/H.01 POLICY/2011 colour_coded_labour_market.pdf