Sask. Federation of Labour calls on province to roll-back utility hikes, raise minimum wage

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the province to roll-back utility hikes and raise the minimum wage, as inflation continues to negatively impact the cost of living for workers.

The federation wants to see these changes in the 2023/2024 budget, which will be released on Wednesday.

SaskPower raised utility bills by an extra three per cent as of Jan. 1. This was in addition to a four per cent increase in September 2022. There's also an additional four per cent increase slated for this coming April.

"Increasing the cost of utilities in our province at a time when there's a cost of living crisis is pretty deplorable, I think. Not taking into consideration at all that workers have been struggling for some time now," said Lori Johb, president of the SFL.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan's minimum wage is the lowest in Canada at $13.00 per hour. That amount is slated to rise to $14.00 on Oct. 1 this year, then $15.00 in October 2024.

Johb said that isn't enough.

"I think we need to see it go to $15.00 an hour right now and then continue to increase," she said. "We know the cost of living wage in two of our major centres in this province is well over $17.00 an hour."

Johb said that when workers do not earn decent wages, they can't put money back into the Saskatchewan economy.

"In many cases, not only can't workers make more than minimum wage, they can't work full time hours. So they're [often] working more than one job to make ends meet, and they're still stopping at the food bank on the way home."

In 2022, the Saskatchewan government said the province's labour shortage — especially in the hospitality, construction and agriculture sectors — was the major economic issue stalling growth in Saskatchewan.

"I don't believe we have a labour shortage. What we have is a wage shortage," said Johb.

"If people were getting paid a decent livable wage, that would be an incentive to stay here."

Johb said if Saskatchewan residents were paid more, they would feel more appreciated, which would lead to a decrease in turnover and an increase in employee loyalty.

"We hear our premier and others talk about the job growth in our province. But when you really boil it down, you know that these are not full-time jobs. These are not the kind of jobs that people can make careers out of," said Johb.