As Waterloo regional council mulls a living wage, these local employers already making it work
CBC
As the Region of Waterloo considers whether to implement a living wage policy for employees and contractors, some local businesses — including a grocery store, caterer, brewery and moving company — are ahead of the curve.
The living wage is defined by the Ontario Living Wage Network as what people actually need to earn to afford the cost of living in a given community. It's different from the minimum wage: the base rate that employers must pay their workers, as required by law.
The living wage in Waterloo region is currently pegged at $17.20 an hour, up from $16.35 an hour during the last calculation in 2019, according to the network. By comparison, minimum wage in Ontario is set at $14.35.
All non-student workers employed by the region already earn a living wage, but a report that goes before the region's committee of the whole Tuesday says that adopting a living wage policy could help the region's contracted service staff earn more than minimum wage. It would also set an example for other local employers, the report said.
In 2019, contracted office cleaners with the region earned between $14.25 an hour and $17.00 an hour. Pre-pandemic, cafeteria workers at regional buildings earned between $15.00 and $18.75 an hour.
It would cost about an extra $500,000 to $600,00 a year to require a living wage for new service contracts, according to regional staff.
As regional council prepares to debate the minimum wage policy, CBC Kitchener-Waterloo spoke with four local employers who've already opted to pay their workers a living wage — or higher.
Here's what they had to say:
Owner: Stephanie Soulis, CEO and president.
Type of business: Catering and restaurant.
Number of employees: 35.
What do they earn? Most employees make $20 an hour or more. Entry-level staff begin at $16.35, but CEO Stephanie Soulis says this will be bumped within the next six months to meet the updated living wage in Waterloo region.
How do you make it work? Soulis said she hasn't taken a salary in the last two years, in favour of investing in her business and paying her employees.
Still, Soulis said the choice has been worth it, both in terms of employee retention and morale. These factors are especially important given how expensive it is to hire and train someone new, she said.
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