NDP to increase minimum wage to $15.80 in October after PCs criticize them for 'falling flat'

Manitoba's NDP government is vowing to raise the minimum wage by 50 cents in October, after passing up an opportunity to increase the province's lowest wage shortly after taking office last year. 

Labour Minister Malaya Marcelino said the government is striving to weigh the interest of workers and business owners. The minimum wage will rise to $15.80 an hour on Oct. 1, she said.

"I know for every worker, every little bit helps," Marcelino said in a late Tuesday interview. 

"We're a party that is here to fight for the rights and protections and health and safety of workers every day of the week, so they're always a top priority for me as labour minister.

"But we do have to balance all interests with the rest of Manitoba, and that includes business interests, too. They've seen hikes to the minimum wage — three hikes in a short period of time."

The new wage is based upon a formula tying annual increases to inflation. 

In 2022, the former Progressive Conservative government amended legislation to give it the authority to boost the minimum wage above and beyond the formula, but only if inflation exceeded five per cent. 

As a result, the Tories boosted the minimum wage past the formula's constraints. The wage rose to $13.50 from $11.95 on Oct. 1, 2022, followed by subsequent rises to $14.15 on Apr. 1, 2023 and $15.30 on Oct. 1, 2023.

Government rejected 1st chance

After the election in October, the NDP had the same opportunity to hike the minimum wage because inflation remained high enough. The province could have triggered the adjustment between October and December of last year.

However, the government kept the minimum wage the same. 

Marcelino said time wasn't on the new government's side. 

"After Oct. 18 when I was called to cabinet, there wasn't really a lot of time to be able to make those types of decisions, to make the calculations and then to go through the requisite consultation period," she said.

"At that time, we were still in transition and there were other things that were priorities for us," she added, referring to other affordability measures such as cutting the gas tax and the fact the minimum wage had already been increased three times within a year.

A memo, included in the transition binder Marcelino's department received as she became minister, described the question of whether to put forth another minimum wage increase outside the formula as an "urgent matter" that needed her consideration before the end of the year. 

While in Opposition, NDP Leader Wab Kinew, who's now Manitoba's premier, said he wasn't satisfied by a minimum wage in the province exceeding $15 an hour. 

He wanted the government to adopt a living wage instead, which the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recently pegged at more than $19 an hour in Winnipeg.

"At the end of the day, you will still have a situation where people can work full time in Manitoba and live in poverty," Kinew told reporters in August 2022.

NDP 'falling flat:' Khan

In a statement Tuesday, Progressive Conservative finance critic Obby Khan accused Kinew of saying "everything and anything to get your vote but now that it's time for action, he's falling flat on his promises.

"All talk and no action," Khan said. "He is neglecting the very people he promised he would support."

In an interview before the 50-cent increase was announced, the Manitoba Federation of Labour expressed disappointment the government didn't raise the wage last year. 

"I'm not thrilled that that decision was made," MFL president Kevin Rebeck said, "but I'm pushing hard and I'm hopeful that we can have this discussion change into the discussion it really needs to be … how do we get the minimum wage to be a living wage?"

The memo to Marcelino's department states the government typically consults with the labour management review committee, which includes representation from industry and labour, about changes to the minimum wage. 

Rebeck, labour caucus chair for the committee, said the NDP didn't bring the subject to the group's attention.

The labour leader said he wants the government to scrap the PCs' minimum wage legislation because it prevents a living wage from being enacted. He was part of a group presenting to the NDP caucus on the matter a few weeks ago, Rebeck said.

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said he appreciates the government recognizing many businesses maintaining minimum wage jobs are struggling with high costs already.

Speaking before the government announced the new minimum wage rate, Remillard said he encourages the province to come up with other ways to help Manitobans struggling to get by.

"Minimum wage might sound on the surface like that moves the needle, but it really doesn't. We've seen other jurisdictions that have increased their minimum wage substantially and they still have the same issues: poverty, income insecurity, housing instability." 

Manitoba currently has the third-highest minimum wage among Canadian provinces, behind British Columbia and Ontario. Manitoba will fall behind at least two more provinces in April.