Vancouver votes to end living wage pay for its workers

The City of Vancouver voted to end its policy of paying all city workers a living wage. Kier Junos looks into why the decision was made.

By Kier Junos

Posted March 3, 2023 9:59 pm.

Last Updated March 5, 2023 9:32 pm.

The City of Vancouver has voted to end its living wage certification policy which required the city to pay its workers the hourly amount needed to support a family.

A provincial organization, Living Wage for Families BC, set the wage at $24.08 this year for Metro Vancouver. The organization defines the living wage as the hourly wage needed for two full-time working adults to be able to support basic expenses for a family of four.

However, the city says it can’t afford the 17 per cent increase.

Councillor Christine Boyle says the decision is a step back from being a certified living wage employer. She says the living wage is a bare-bones calculation.

“I think it’s really important that people who work for the city of Vancouver should be able to afford to call Vancouver home,” Boyle said.

In a statement to CityNews – Mayor Ken Sim says in part: “Due to the immediate impact the new living wage rate calculation would have on the pay structure for the rest of the City, and the possibility the rate may be reduced in future years, Council decided to implement a fair wage approach based on a five-year rolling average of the Living Wage rate, which will smooth out annual fluctuations for workers and contract employees.”

Warren Williams, president of CUPE Local 15, the union representing City of Vancouver workers, says he’s not convinced.

“Vancouver prints its own money,” he said. “I mean, you know, it’s a massive municipality. And they have massive revenue sources. And so, no, I’m not buying that.”

Williams says he’s concerned that the decision might reverberate throughout the Lower Mainland and the province.

Anastasia French, provincial manager of Living Wage for Families BC, says a five-year rolling average would look like $20.90 an hour.

French says the 17 per cent increase in living wage is achievable, even though it’s high.

“While the city may be struggling to make it work, there are cities that have made it work and I think it’s important to focus on those to show that it is feasible, it is achievable.”

French says while we are in difficult economic times, it’s much more difficult for low-wage workers.

“They go to the grocery store and they see quite how expensive vegetables are getting. Every time they go, things are more expensive, and rent is skyrocketing. And it’s really important that if you’re a city that you’re making sure that the workers who are important to making the city run cleaner- the security guards, the staff can actually afford to live here.”

Council voted on the decision in a private meeting and says more details will be released at the end of March.

“That’s one of the concerns that I have,” Williams said. “There was no stakeholder input from either unions or the public. No conversation at all whatsoever.”