NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter noted today that the deadline for a review by the province’s Minimum Wage Board regarding the issue of indexing the minimum wage to the rate of inflation has come and gone.
While announcing last July that the minimum wage in Saskatchewan would remain stagnant, Sask Party Labour Minister Don Morgan also declared that “a more extensive review of the issue of indexation” would be undertaken and completed by December 31, 2010.
“New Democrats are of the opinion that there was no need to study the issue in the first place,” Lingenfelter said. “It is a question of basic fairness for the working people of our province. As the cost of everyday necessities such as utilities and housing continues to rise, so should the minimum wage be a reflection of those new realities.”
“However, since the deadline for the review has come and gone, Saskatchewan people deserve to know what recommendations were made and how the Wall government intends to respond to this important issue,” Lingenfelter added.
Lingenfelter noted that the Wall government, shortly after taking office in 2007, adopted the NDP government’s plan to increase the minimum wage in Saskatchewan by increments. It refused, however, to commit to indexing the minimum wage against the rate of inflation as the NDP plan would have done thereby forcing minimum wage earners into a position of ever-declining purchasing power based on their wage.
"Minimum wage earners contribute greatly to our economy and perform many of the most demanding jobs in our society. They have a right to decent wages that will help them maintain their standard of living and deserve better than a government willing to let them fall behind," Lingenfelter said. “This report should be released immediately.”
