According to a new report, the living wage for the Grey Bruce Perth Huron region is the second-highest in all of Ontario.
United Way has released a living wage report for Living Wage Week that looks at what a living wage needs to be in Midwestern Ontario.
Francesca Dobbyn, Executive Director of United Way Bruce Grey, says what they mean by a living wage is the hourly wage an average worker would need to make to cover the most basic expenses.
The living wage for the Grey Bruce Perth Huron region is up 1.3 percent from last year, sitting currently at $23.05 an hour.
"So it covers the rent, covers all the housing costs, covers transportation, covers food. It doesn't cover vacations, doesn't cover debt repayment, doesn't cover birthday parties or Christmas or anything like that. It's just the idea that if you've got a job, you should be able to pay the bills," Dobbyn stated.
To land on a solid number for a living wage in any region, Dobbyn says they look at large amounts of data to inform the report.
"So we look at the nutritious food basket, which is a report from Public Health, to tell us what a good, healthy grocery budget would be for good, healthy food. Not junk food, not prepared food, but good, healthy food. We look at Canada Housing and Mortgage data around what rental costs are, among many other things," Dobbyn added.
Those other things include data on average gas and car payment rates in an area, clothing costs, childcare costs and much more.
There are currently, according to the United Way, 500 certified living wage employers in Ontario. Dobbyn says when businesses pay workers a living wage, there's benefits to the business.
"If you have less staff turnover and you're staff are staying with you because they're not trying to find a slightly better paying job, I mean, I talked to someone recently who told me they moved jobs for 10 cents more an hour. If you don't have all that turnover and you pay a living wage, you don't have staff wondering 'Am I gonna go home and my hydro's disconnected?' You'll also have better productivity and morale, more loyalty, because if staff feel the employer is investing in them, they'll invest more in the employer," Dobbyn said.
To address these high living wage needs, Dobbyn says the costs of basic needs have to come down. She says inflation has slowed but food prices are still through the roof. She also says having the $10 a day childcare program available will be huge, and establishing a more robust inter-community transportation system would greatly reduce costs.
Dobbyn says that's because in their reports, they always factor in the cost of a car, because that transportation system to get people to jobs just isn't there on a grand enough scale in the region as a while.
“Income solutions are needed for people to afford food, housing and daycare. Daycare is critical for parents, in particular, women, to work. While the government has announced $10/day childcare and a new school lunch program to assist families and kids, these programs are still not fully funded in our region. Waitlists exist for childcare spaces and subsidized rates. Locally, subsidized spaces are $22/day but due to a lack of staffing we don’t have enough spaces available throughout Grey Bruce,” noted Jill Umbach, Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force co-ordinator. “In a field dominated by women, Early Childhood Educators in the daycare sector are still struggling to be paid well.”
To learn more about the calculation for the local Living Wage, join Anne Coleman Campaign Manager for the Ontario Living Wage Network, Friday November 22 at 10 a.m. for the November Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force meeting. To access the Zoom link for the meeting email povertytaskforce@unitedwaybg.com.
For more information on the Living Wage report please contact Francesca Dobbyn at 519-376-1560 or execdir@unitedwaybg.com.
For more information on Living Wage Ontario, please contact Anne Coleman, Campaign Manager Manager@ontariolivingwage.ca Ontario Living Wage Network.
