Canadian bank notes are seen in Ottawa on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
Manitoba workers earning minimum wage will take home a little more beginning October 1.
The Manitoba government will increase the minimum wage rate by 20 cents to $16 in the fall — up from $15.80.
This year’s adjustment reflects Manitoba’s 2024 inflation rate of 1.1 percent, rounded up to the nearest five cents.
However, a new poll from the Manitoba Federation of Labour says the new hourly wage just isn’t enough.
According to a recent poll conducted for the MFL by Probe Research, 72 percent of Manitobans say that a minimum wage of $16 per hour isn’t enough for most workers to get by on. Only 14 percent of Manitobans think that the new wage is enough.
“No one should work full time and still live in poverty, but that is the harsh reality for many minimum wage earners in Manitoba,” said MFL president Kevin Rebeck.
“This polling shows that a majority of Manitobans understand this small increase to the minimum wage is out of touch with what low-wage workers need to cover groceries, transportation and the other essential costs that only continue to rise during this affordability crisis.”
(MFL / PROBE RESEARCH)
