THUNDER BAY – The City of Thunder Bay won’t be joining a campaign in which employers pledge to pay a “living wage” calculated to keep workers out of poverty, based on the local cost of living.
City administration recommended against joining the campaign, as requested last year by the Lakehead Social Planning Council, finding applying it to part-time municipal employees would cost over $580,000.
Those benefits would go largely to student workers, administration emphasized in its recommendation, suggesting those employees don't need the top-up to the local living wage calculated at $16.30 an hour (all full-time city staff already make more than that).
More than 30 per cent of the city’s part-time workers are over the age of 24, according to a staff report.
City council voted almost unanimously Monday in favour of administration’s recommendation. Couns. Andrew Foulds and Albert Aiello declared conflicts, with Foulds citing his son's employment with the city. Coun. Brian McKinnon appeared to cast a lone vote against the motion, but had stated earlier in the meeting that he agreed with administration's recommendation.
Thunder Bay's local living wage is calculated at $16.30 based on the cost of living for a family of four, with two parents working full-time. The benchmark is different in each community, ranging from $16.20 in Sault Ste. Marie to $22.08 in Toronto.
Council approved a recommendation to include local living wage data in the city's annual salary report for non-affiliated employees and consider it as a factor in bargaining with union groups, though it’s unclear what impact those steps could have.
Joining the campaign would have cost the city nothing, initially, since it already meets the criteria of paying all full-time staff a living wage.
However, city manager Norm Gale told councillors the campaign would bind the city to create a plan to eventually pay part-time staff a living wage, and ensure contractors paid their own staff a living wage, as well.
“There is no scenario in this process that does not have financial implications for the City of Thunder Bay," he said.
The city currently employs just under 300 people who make below $16.30, administration reported, all part-time, seasonal, or on-call workers. Around 70 per cent were between 14 and 24 years old in a typical year.
Bumping those workers to a living wage would cost the city around $584,000, administration calculated. The calculation assumes an 8.7 per cent pay increase across the board for all non-affiliate city staff, to avoid compressing pay bands.
The report did not calculate the additional cost to extend the living wage to city contractors, a goal of the campaign.
The provincial living wage campaign has signed up over 500 employers, according to organizers. However, Coun. Brian McKinnon pointed out Monday only three municipalities were on that list, calling that a "red flag."
Councillors offered few other justifications for their decision Monday night, with only a handful speaking on the item. Some councillors had voiced concerns when the LSPC presented its ask last year.
Seven local employers have joined the living wage campaign, including the Lakehead Social Planning Council, Kinna Aweya Legal Clinic, Wequedong Lodge, Nalu, Roots to Harvest, Itec 2000, and Telstar Motel.
