MEDICINE HAT, AB — On Monday, Alberta will see minimum wage increase from $13.60 to $15 an hour.
That means the province will have the highest minimum wage in the country.
The majority of minimum wage jobs are in the retail, food, and service industries.
Most employees we spoke to are happy they’ll be making a larger hourly wage.
Mike Waskalik, owner and operator of Local Public Eatery, says the increase will make its way back to the consumer with menu price increases.
“It’s tough to balance you know a great customer experience with less staff, and that’s just the new reality you’re going to be looking at in all places,” said Waskalik.
The serving staff at Local will receive a wage of $15 an hour, but they make most of their wages from tips.
Darin McKay, bar manager at Local, says the servers have noticed as the price of the menu goes up their tips go down.
“No actually more concern from employees that with the wage increase obviously menu prices have to go up. So they’re worried about customer tip percentage going down,” said McKay.
Just over 250,000 Albertans, equalling 11 per cent of the workforce, currently make under $15 an hour.
Lisa Kowalchuk, executive director The Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce, says the increase will put further financial strain on small businesses.
“The largest impacts I think are going to be those small mom and pop shops,” says Kowalchuk. “I know from some of the conversations I’ve had that some of these business owners aren’t even making minimum wage themselves.”
The living wage in Medicine Hat is currently $13.65.
Kowalchuk says the chamber had recommended the government take a different route than the wage increase.
“We were saying hold the line on minimum wage at $13.60 an hour but remove the provincial and federal tax deductions,” says Kowalchuk.
She believes if those deductions were removed from low wage earners it would make a difference.
“Minimum wage earners or people making $13.60 an hour would actually take home more in their net pay than they would at $15 an hour with those tax deductions on there,” says Kowalchuk.
On Monday, regardless of where you stand on the issue, this is the new reality for businesses in Medicine Hat as they have to pay their employees more.
