Excerpts from report and press release:
In 2008, the CCPA, First Call and Victoria's Community Council published the inaugural report Working for a Living Wage. That report calculated that the living family wage was $16.74/hour in Metro Vancouver, and $16.39/ hour in Metro Victoria. Since then, however, family costs have continued to rise and changes have occurred to government taxes and transfers. And so this short report updates the 2008 calculation, providing the 2010 Living Wage for Metro Vancouver -- now $18.17/hour.
The living wage calculation includes basic expenses (such as housing, child care, food and transportation) for a two-earner family with two young children, as well as government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies. It finds that each parent would need to work full-time at an hourly wage of $18.17 in Metro Vancouver in order to pay for necessities, support the healthy development of their children and participate in the social and civil life of their communities.
Child care costs also took a big jump of $113/month over the two years. "In the wake of federal and provincial cuts, child care fees have seen a steep increase, effectively cancelling out what families receive in the federal Universal Child Care Benefit each month," says Susan Harney, chair of the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC.
"Child care is the second most expensive item in the living wage family budget calculation (after shelter)," notes Harney. "If we had a publicly-funded universal child care plan, it would be a huge burden lifted off the shoulders of young families struggling to make ends meet."
"Child care is an excellent example of how governments can reduce wage pressures on employers by enhancing public programs," says Klein. "Employers who would find the living wage challenging should urge governments to strengthen the public services and supports that enhance our economic security."