Our achievements this year

We are a very small program (with currently only one staff member), but with a network of hundreds of very passionate employers, advocates, labour partners and community champions, we managed to achieve far more than we could on our own.

Thanks to the support of our amazing network, we have managed to:

• Calculate more Living Wage rates than ever before. Every calculation involves detailed research and verification to ensure that it is comparable to other communities in BC, whilst reflecting the local situation. This year, we calculated 25 Living Wage rates for communities across BC. 
• Research who in BC earns a living wage and who doesn’t. The “Trapped in the Wage Gap” report found that 1 in 3 workers in BC don’t earn a living wage. Shockingly half of all racialized women in Metro-Vancouver don’t earn a Living Wage. This research highlighted the scale of the work we have ahead of us.
• Advocate for the Government to remove restrictions that stop disabled workers from earning a living wage. Over 50 employers signed our open letter calling on the Government to stop the clawbacks of disability benefits if disabled workers earn a living wage. The recent Poverty Reduction Strategy and the platforms of all three parties included commitments to address this issue.
• Rebrand as Living Wage BC. Our new rebrand allows us to advocate more effectively for living wages for all workers and to foster an inclusive economy that benefits everyone.
• Certify over 100 new Living Wage Employers. 1600 direct staff, and thousands more contracted workers received a pay increase this year because of their commitment to paying a Living Wage. Find out the Living Wage Employers in your community.

We are so grateful for all the people we have worked with this year to achieve this impact – thank you!

A challenging 2025

We have big ambitions to build on this work, and ensure more workers are earning a Living Wage. But to be candid, we have some real challenges ahead.

The high living wage represents a real burden for both employers and workers. We know we need to step up our engagement with employers and our advocacy on the Government to help close the gap between the minimum and the living wage.

Help us continue our work. Can you donate an hour, a day, or even a week of the living wage to help other workers?

If we can get 200 people to make a monthly commitment of the Living Wage, we will be able to hire an Engagement and Advocacy Manager to grow the number of Living Wage Employers and ensure more workers in BC can earn a Living Wage. Will you donate today?

Thank you for all your support to help us achieve such amazing impact this year. We can’t wait to work with you to achieve even more in 2025.