Winnipeg mayor opposes living wage motion, says collective bargaining should set pay
'Significant cost implications to raising the base rate' for city employees, says Scott Gillingham
A push to make a living wage benchmark the minimum standard for all City of Winnipeg employees and contractors has hit a delay at city hall.
Council had been set to vote Thursday on a motion from Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) that would have asked city staff to study the Canadian living wage framework — a measure of how much it costs a family to pay for basic necessities — and make that the City of Winnipeg's minimum wage by Jan. 1, 2025.
Rather than vote on the motion, council sent it back to the executive policy committee for further discussion.
While Gilroy said she remains hopeful a majority of council members will vote for her motion, Mayor Scott Gillingham made it clear he does not support it.
Gillingham and Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) voted against the motion that sent Gilroy's proposal back to the committee.
Gillingham told reporters he would have preferred to have had the debate now.
"There's significant cost implications to raising the base rate, because when you raise the base rate of any wage in the City of Winnipeg, all the other wage classifications will want and will seek a bump accordingly," said Gillingham.
Wages should be negotiated through the collective bargaining process, he said.
According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive think tank that developed the living wage framework, the living wage for Winnipeg is $19.21 per hour.
That's the minimum wage a family of four — with two young children and both parents working full-time — would need to pay for shelter, food, transportation and child care, according to the CCPA.
It doesn't include costs for debt repayment, retirement savings or caring for a loved one.
Right now, CCPA researcher Niall Harney says there are workers at the city making less than that.
He told councillors on Thursday that he's reviewed the collective agreement with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 — which represents city workers — and found 13 positions at the City of Winnipeg that "offered less than a living wage."
Those positions were concentrated in library, recreation and 311 services, he said.
At one time, the city paid significantly more than the provincial minimum wage, but that advantage has eroded over time.
The city raised its minimum wage for workers to $15 an hour in 2020. At the time, the provincial minimum was $11.90.
Since then, Manitoba raised its minimum wage, reaching $15.30 as of last year. That's now on par with the city's lowest-paid workers.
After the vote, Gilroy said the city needs to be competitive to attract and keep staff.
"Making sure that we have a fair living wage, making sure that we have good retention, good working jobs that are good for Winnipeggers, is also good for the economy," she said.
The motion will come back for debate at council's executive policy committee in February.
Essential services motion passed
A separate motion, which would ask the province to update essential services legislation, was passed by council Thursday after months of delay.
Last April, councillors debated expanding the list of workers who would be prevented from going on strike, after staff nearly walked off the job without an essential services agreement in place in fall 2022.
The job action was put on hold while negotiations with the union continued.
Rather than asking the province to specify which workers would lose the right to strike, the motion passed Thursday calls for legislation that would require a negotiated essential services agreement be in place before union members can walk off the job.
Security review after Edmonton city hall shooting
Council also heard Thursday that the city is reviewing security measures in the wake of a Tuesday incident in Edmonton, when a heavily armed man fired shots and threw a Molotov cocktail inside Edmonton city hall.
No one was injured and the man was arrested.
Gillingham told council Thursday he reached out to Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi to offer support, and that the City of Winnipeg's chief administrative officer is reviewing city security policies.
A report is expected to be presented to councillors tomorrow.
The city is also in the process of hiring someone to co-ordinate security at all city-owned buildings.
City issues first bonds in 4 years
For the first time since 2020, the city issued bonds to help pay for infrastructure projects.
Gillingham says the recent bond sale, which raised $200 million, shows people think the city is a good investment. Large institutional investors such as banks purchased the bonds, essentially investing in the city's debt on the promise that it will be repaid with interest.
The bonds have a 40-year term with an interest rate of 4.65 per cent.
Gillingham says the quick sale of the bonds proves the city is in good shape.
"Individuals perhaps talk about their thought that the city was maybe on the brink of insolvency or not managing its funds well," he said to reporters.
"The market would say otherwise. The market demand was strong and there's a lot of investor confidence in the City of Winnipeg."
The money from the bonds is earmarked for projects such as the South End Water Pollution Control Centre and the renewal of the St. James Civic Centre.
Corrections
- An earlier version of this story said Mayor Scott Gillingham was the only Winnipeg council member who voted against the motion that sent Coun. Cindy Gilroy's proposal back to the executive policy committee. In fact, Coun. Evan Duncan also voted against that motion.Jan 26, 2024 9:56 AM CT
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