Guest Blog: Why we’re proud to support the Living Wage campaign

Ed Sue is Marketing Manager for the Community Savings Credit Union. In this blog he shares why they are a Living Wage Employer. 

Imagine having to choose between rent and groceries? Or between childcare support and paying off your utility bills? The choice seems impossible. Yet for working parents on minimum wage salaries in British Columbia, that is the choice they are faced with every day.

Living Wage for Families Response:

The BC Government today announced 3 days of paid sick leave for workers ill with COVID-19 and have committed to introducing a long term paid sick leave scheme next year. 

Over 60 employers call on Premier Horgan to bring in paid sick leave

Over 60 employers have signed an open letter to Premier Horgan, asking the BC government to take immediate action to ensure every worker in British Columbia has access to paid sick leave — during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Spotlight: 

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) supports, promotes, and represents the shared interests of 7,000 businesses and property owners in the central 90-block area of Vancouver’s downtown core. They have been a Living Wage Employer since 2020.

Spotlight:

Burnaby Blacktop Ltd is one of the Lower Mainland’s largest Asphalt and Concrete Paving Contractors. They have been a Living Wage Employer since 2020.

Spotlight on a Living Wage Employer

Just Mechanical Ltd has been in operation since 2007; Servicing, Repairing and Retrofitting HVAC and Plumbing equipment for large and small Commercial businesses throughout the Lower Mainland.

Their customers include: Cities and Municipalities, Institutions, Strata Corporations, Non-Profit Organizations, Industrial Sites, and Property Management Firms. They have been a Living Wage Employer since 2019.

First Living Wage scenery maker in BC

GNW Scene Shop is the first organization in British Columbia’s theatre industry to signify its commitment to ending working poverty, by paying all its staff and contracted workers a Living Wage

Federal and Provincial Budgets

and what they mean for working families in British Columbia

This week’s federal and provincial budgets included some positive initiatives to help lower the cost of living for families in BC. However, there were several missed opportunities to better support low wage workers.

We have certified another 17 Living Wage Employers across BC! 

Over 600 direct employees, and countless contracted workers will now not need to worry about how they will pay rent and food for their families because their employer has guaranteed to pay them a Living Wage.

The biggest difference will be for nearly 100 staff, who have received an immediate pay raise to bring them up to their local Living Wage rate.

Jenny's Story

Jenny lives with her husband and son on Vancouver Island.

She previously had to work three jobs to ensure that she had enough money to make ends meet. She would sometimes go from one job to the next on the same day. Working three jobs impacted on her physical and mental health.