A Kelowna, B.C., company has prioritized paying its employees a minimum of a living wage.
Inter-Mtn Enterprises, a sign supplier company, said its employees are to be cared for first and foremost.
“Our core values are fun, family, fairness and responsibility. And you can’t have any fun if you aren’t meeting your basic needs and not looking after your family,” said Leah MacDonald, Inter-Mtn Enterprises’ president.
“The concept of being a fair employer and looking after the people who look after us is of incredible importance for us.“
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The company wears the badge of a certified living wage employer, one of a handful in the B.C. Interior.
“We joined forces with the Living Wage for Families about a year ago. We recognize the importance of being able to meet beyond basic needs.”
B.C.’s 2021 report on living wages has been published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Living Wage for Families BC.
A living wage is calculated as the hourly amount that each of two working parents with two young children must earn to meet their basic expenses including rent, child care, food and transportation.
“This is the (bare) basics. It’s the minimum families need to make to make ends meet,” said Anastasia French, Living Wage for Families B.C.’s lead organizer.
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For the greater Kelowna area, the living wage is $18.49 per hour per parent in a household.
According to the 2016 consensus report, around 90,000 greater Kelowna residents make that or less.
“For those workers that are working minimum wage, they often have to work an extra half day a week to make ends meet,” said French.
“That’s time they are not spending on their families and often working multiple jobs.”
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Living Wage for Families BC’s staff say working poverty is a massive social issue in B.C.
Many parents that are working minimum wage are often so busy with work and multiple jobs that they don’t have time to focus on their children – which in turn can lead children to hardships once they become adults.
Living Wage for Families BC is advocating that more companies need to pay employees a ‘liveable wage’.
B.C.’s minimum wage is $15.20 per hour.
