Summary of the Minimum Wage Survey

Members of the South Cariboo Chamber were invited to participate in an on-line survey from December 10 to 15, 2010, to gauge their opinions on whether the minimum wage in British Columbia should be increased.  In all, 34 members participated.

The survey was carried out to provide the South Cariboo Chamber with an accurate snapshot of members’ opinions to be passed onto the BC Chamber, which is in the process of engaging the provincial government on this topic.

Below is a summary of the results from the survey.

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How many people does your business employ?

29% responded none/self-employed

37% responded 1-5 employees

11% responded 6-9 employees

9% responded 10-15 employees

0% responded 16-20 employees

11% responded 21-50 employees

3% responded 51+ employees

Do you currently employ any staff at minimum wage?

15% responded yes

85% responded no

Which of the following statements do you most agree with:

23% - The minimum wage should be left unchanged for now

35% - The BC Government should implement a one-time increase to the minimum wage in the near future

42% - Increases to the minimum wage should occur annually based on a clear and predictable formula

If the BC minimum wage is increased, please rate the impact this would have on your business.

55% - negligible impact

14% - negligible to moderate impact

14% - moderate impact

17% - moderate to severe impact

0% - severe impact

 

If the BC Government were to increase the minimum wage, what should it be increased to?

16% - $8.00/hr – wage should stay the same

10% - increase to $8.50/hr

32% - increase to $9.00/hr

10% - increase to $9.50/hr

29% - increase to $10.00/hr

0% - increase to $10.50/hr

3% - increase to $11.00/hr or more

 

Numerous additional comments were received, including:

·        Wrong year for an increase

·        Training wage should be eliminated

·        As basic cost of living increases, minimum wage should follow, but so should the allowable deductions for small businesses

·        Rebate taxes (carbon, HST, etc) back to low income workers

·        Let the market determine wages

·        Link minimum wage to CPI (Consumer Price Index) – this will take the politicization out of the issue – businesses would know to expect an annual increase based on cost of living

·        Minimum wage should be a liveable wage.  This is not currently the situation.