BC Minimum Wage Is Going Up From Today

These wage increases usually happen on new year, but this year under the new BC Premier Christy Clark, the BC minimum wage is going upto $9.50/hr, against protest from Hospitality Business Owners.

Premier Christy Clark announced her intention earlier this year to introduce incremental increases to the provincial minimum hourly wage, which stood at $8 — the lowest in Canada — for nearly a decade.

The first increase took effect on May 1 of this year, when the minimum hourly wage rose to $8.75. It’s expected to reach $10.25 by May 2012.

Minimum wage increase will certainly have an effect on the current businesses that makes profit by paying their employees minimum wage. Wage increase also increases the employer contribution to CPP and EI costing the business owner their profits.

This is a challenge that Business owners will have to face on their own and make a decision on how this additional cost of doing business will effect their bottom line in the current economy.

Minimum wage is just a guide line for employers in BC. A recent study among BC employees found out that only 2.3% of employed earn minimum wage. Many business owners already pay their employees above the minimum wage level.