Perth-Huron United Way has updated the local living wage in the region.
November 14-18 is Living Wage Week, and the United Way says the new living wage in Huron and Perth is $20.70 an hour, which is up from $17.95 just last year.
"Based on a 35-hour work week, the Perth-Huron living wage was calculated using local data and considered the living expenses of a weighted average of family types including a family of four, a single mother supporting a seven-year-old child and a single adult, once government transfers and deductions were taken into account. Everyday expenses in the calculation included food, housing, utilities, clothing, childcare and transportation," the UWPH said.
For more information about Perth-Huron’s living wage, visit perthhuron.unitedway.ca.
“More than ever, it’s important that communities engage in a discussion around the concept of a living wage,” says Kristin Crane, director of Social Research & Planning. “As we’re seeing, prices are increasing across the board. That means workers need to earn more to keep pace with economic pressures and to thrive, not just survive. The living wage reflects the realities of living in a community much better than a minimum wage does. For workers in our region, if they’re relying on a job paying minimum wage, a person would be short about $728 per month as far as covering expenses. That’s a huge gap, and why the living wage is so important.”
Crane says employers are looking at their budgets and seeing how much their costs have gone up and the same is true for a household.
“The same is true for a house hold, where everything costs more, fuel, rent, housing, food. So it makes sense that the wage should increase as well to allow people to be able to pay for their basic day to day necessities,"Crane explains.
Crane also points out, there are benefits to employers who pay a living wage in the reduction of their cost of constantly having to recruit to replace employees who have left.
“There is strong data to show that when an employer pays a living wage, their recruitment costs and their retention costs decrease significantly because there isn't that turnover in their work force," Crane shares.
“We also understand that businesses face obstacles in the current climate,” adds Crane. “It’s a struggle for many, so the idea of paying employees more when there are so many pressures may seem counterintuitive. But when we talk with organizations that have certified we’re hearing a living wage helps reduce turnover and improves recruitment and productivity thanks to higher morale and less fatigue because workers don’t need multiple jobs to make ends meet. So on a very practical level, a living wage is improving the outlook for employers even if it initially seems like a difficult transition to make.”
“In the end, this is another facet of helping make sure there’s a brighter future waiting for all members of our community,” says UWPH Executive Director Ryan Erb. “Poverty is the larger issue that informs so many others, from homelessness to mental health challenges to intimate partner violence. That’s why UWPH wants to keep the living wage at the top of people’s minds. If we want a better, fairer, and more welcoming community, the living wage is another tool in our toolbox to use to make sure that as we continue to build back, it’s equitable and inclusive for all our community members.”
