Working Poor or Making a Living?
Read More ::
Living Wage survey ::
Living Wage links ::
Campaign Issues ::
Keep Informed
Our campaign for a living wage calls on the provincial government to increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation, and to develop a comprehensive policy to address poverty in Alberta. It also calls on municipalities and the province to establish living wage policies to ensure that organizations doing business with governments must pay a living wage to their employees.
Public Interest Alberta has released new statistics indicating that 21.9% of all working Albertans earn less than $12.00 per hour, despite the province's recent prosperity. Click here to read PIA's November 26, 2007 media release.
PIA completed an on-line survey and a series of focus groups that explored what people would define as a living wage for their communities and what different work sectors experience as a result of not earning a living wage. This information, along with current statistics about the number of low wage workers in Alberta, was incorporated into our report by the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Working Poor or Making a Living: The Reality of Low Wage Workers in Alberta.
The report has been used extensively by partner organizations throughout Alberta to support their calls for living wage policies and an increase to the minimum wage. The network of organizations and individuals involved in the advocacy work is growing and extending into many parts of Alberta. We also continue to work closely with national partner organizations, Campaign 2000 and the National Anti Poverty Organization (NAPO), to put pressure on the federal government. We received excellent media attention when we released the report and are now regularly called by the media when they are working on issues of poverty and low-wages.
Click here if you would like to join our efforts or contact us if you have questions about how your organization can participate in our campaign.
We will continue to work with other organizations who are calling for increases to the minimum wage and for Alberta to increase support for people living in poverty. We are also joining with various organizations that receive contracts from the provincial government to deliver family services, seniors care and childcare to challenge the provincial government to establish a living wage policy in these sectors.
To download the full report as a PDF, click here.
To keep informed on living wage issues and PIA's campaign efforts click here.
Download Campaign 2000's 2007 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada
