HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-07-01, Page 7Wednesday, July 1, 2015 • Huron Expositor 7
Huron -Perth living wage is $16.47: SRPC report
Laura Broadley
Postmedia Network
The living wage for Huron
and Perth Counties is $16.47
per hour in 2015, according
to a report released by the
Social Research & Planning
Council (SRPC).
The report, entitled A liv-
ing wage: What it takes to
make ends meet in Perth and
Huron Counties, was
released last Wednesday.
The SRPC, a division of
United Way Perth -Huron,
partnered with the Regional
Labour Market Strategy pro-
ject for Perth County and the
Huron County Health Unit to
investigate the living wage
for the two counties.
Tracy Birtch, director of
the SRPC, said one of the big
findings of the last report on
quality of life in the area was
that people were working a
lot for low wages.
The SRPC wanted to inves-
tigate how people were man-
aging with that type of work
and what the wage rate was
for people to make ends meet.
The calculated living wage
is the hourly wage a worker
needs to support a family
consisting of two 35 -year-old
parents working full-time, a
7 -year-old child and a
3 -year-old child.
There isn't a big difference
between the financial needs
of a family of four and other
family types, which is why the
report focuses on just one
family structure, explained
Janice Dunbar, chair of the
living wage sub -committee.
The calculation was in
accordance with Canadian
Centre for Policy Alterna-
tives (CCPA) methodology.
The CCPA's Ontario office
specializes in provincial and
municipal issues and pro-
vides independent and non-
partisan research.
"This is a well thought out
process," said Ryan Erb,
executive director of United
Way Huron -Perth. "It's actu-
ally a standard way of calcu-
lating living wage that has
been used across Canada."
The living wage calcula-
tion include the following
costs per month for the fam-
ily of four:
• Food ($701) based on the
Nutritious Food Basket sur-
vey conducted by the public
health units.
• Clothing and footwear
($154).
• Housing and related costs
($1,182) including rent, utili-
ties, furnishings, tenant insur-
ance, phone and intemet.
• Transportation ($929)
including the cost of operat-
ing a used vehicle (one in
Stratford and two in rural
areas), transit passes and
occasional taxes trips (for
Stratford only).
• Childcare and school fees
($1,187 before subsidies)
including daycare, before/
after school care, recreation
programs in the summer and
PA days and basic school sup-
plies and fees. It takes into
consideration available child-
care subsidies.
• Recreation and leisure
($323) for an occasional
family outing, a modest res-
taurant meal once a month,
a family pass to the YMCA, a
one-week camping trip and
a one-week "staycation':
• Medical, dental, disabil-
ity and life insurance ($467)
assuming that the family
does not have access to ben-
efits through work.
• Laundry, personal care,
one continuing education
course and bank fees ($276).
• Contingency ($209) as
four per cent of household
budget for job loss and illness.
It is a "bare bones" budget,
according to the SRPC.
Erb said that for some
people the conversation is
about putting food on the
table and even employed
people struggle with having
enough food to eat.
Loan and interest pay-
ments, retirement savings,
0o aRso , xauoanuupo 1a
AFL
Li
We're not saying it's a high standard
but it's better than a minimum wage."
— Shelley Groenesteg
owning a home, saving for
children's future education,
pets, social outings with
friends, personal lifestyle
behaviours like smoking,
costs of caring for a disabled,
seriously ill or elderly family
and anything other than a
small amount of savings for
emergencies are not
included in the calculation.
The living wage is based
on the Canadian Living
Wage Framework and
accounts for a family's
annual expenses after gov-
ernment taxes, benefits and
payroll deductions.
The SRPC said there is a
common misconception
that a living wage would
increase the overall cost of
living for the whole commu-
nity. It said that the prices of,
for example, a cup of coffee,
go up for a variety of reasons
and aren't a direct result of
increased wages.
Poor physical and mental
heath, low levels of education
attainment and increases in
homelessness are some of
the social costs of low wages,
according to the SRPC.
"Poverty costs us substan-
tially as a society. The cost to
the individual is great, the
cost to the wider society is
also great," Erb said.
In Huron and Perth
approximately half of all
households have a total
income below the annual
living wage rate of $60,000.
Employers across the
region, technical training
groups, providers of various
employment services were
among those who partici-
pated in focus groups.
The report indicated that
workers in the accommoda-
tion and food service, retail
trade and agriculture indus-
tries account for the majority
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•
•
of people earning lower than
the living wage.
These industries, along
with small non-profit groups,
would feel the biggest impact
from a living wage. This could
mean a reduction in services
or staffing for groups with
fixed budgets.
"We recognize that there's
challenges with this conver-
sation," Erb said.
The SRPC said the con-
sulted employers, who
already paid living wage,
reported lower turnover and
absenteeism rates and greater
employee engagement.
Shelley Groenestege, a local
construction business owner,
said that having a concrete
number stops businesses
from having to guess at what
to pay their employees.
"We're not saying it's a high
standard but it's better than a
minimum wage, Groenestege.
The SRPC has recom-
mended five actions as a
result of the conclusions
drawn from the report;
establishment of a public
communications campaign
to raise awareness, update
and publicize the living
wage calculation on an
annual basis, recruit local
businesses to help advo-
cate about the importance
of living wages, investigate
the barriers to implement-
ing a living wage and con-
tinued support of the living
wage movement.
The SRPC has grown its
mandate to work to imple-
ment the recommendations,
said Erb.
Birtch said the priority is to
create a public conversation.
"Our next step is to really
take this out there and pre-
sent it to the community, to
organizations, to whoever
that would be willing to lis-
ten, just so they can start
understanding the actual
cost of living," said Birtch.
IIREICTORY
LJflJRC'H
You are invited to attend these area churches
ST. THOMAS ANGLICAN
21 Jarvis St., Seaforth
Rector The Rev. Karine Snowdon
Rectory 519-482-9071
Church Office 519-527-1522
Sunday, July 5th
Worship at 9:30 a.m.
Everyone Welcome
EGMONDVILLE UNITED CHURCH
Pastor Steve Hildebrand
Youth Coordinator - Laura Nakamura
Worship July 5th 10:30 am
Worship Leader
Gayle Coleman
Youth Sunday School at 10:30 a.m.
Adult Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.
For more information view our website
`^ ^"w•egmondvilleunitedchurch.com
& like us on Facebook
BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH
An Associated Gospel Church
126 Main St. Seaforth
519-527-0982
Interim Pastor:
Rev. Laurie Morris
SundayWorshipService10:00 a.m.
July & August Only
&EVERYONE WELCOME
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
59 Goderich St. W. Seaforth
519-527-0170
Lorrie Mann -Organist
Sunday Worship
JULY 5th,11:00 a.m.
Guest Speaker
Ernie Naylor
Nursery Provided as Needed
L\.
(ALL WELCOME