It really depends on the boss, the job, etc. In my province, minimum wage went up to $9.10 or so within the last year. There were several different reactions to this - first off, my boss had to put up the fees to our customers in order to make up the difference in what she had to pay her staff (she gave us all a raise despite the fact we were all paid a bit more than the new minimum wage, because she didnt want people who had been working for her 12 and 16 years to make 50 cents over minimum wage!), and after she put up the prices to balance things out, I, as the part time worker, had my shift adjusted slightly. My actual shift is only 11am to 3pm because I went to part time after my third child was born. But I have been coming in at 9am most days because that lets everyone else do program planning, go for doc appts, etc etc. But after the minimum wage hike of 60 cents/hour, we started making one or two days a week back to my original shift. As things continue to get more expensive for the center, I will probably be back to 11-3 four days a week.
That is one impact of minimum wage regulations that impacts two sectors - the employee AND the consumer. Almost every fast food place in town put their product prices up within in a month of EACH of the last 3 minimum wage hikes. It's over $8 for a basket of chicken and fries at the Dairy Queen behind my workplace when it used to be less than $6 about 4 years ago. I used to eat that once a month or so as a treat, and now I only buy it maybe every 6 months. That in turn also affects workplaces because they have to pay their staff more, and then raise prices for their customers to make up some of the difference, and then less people may want to eat there (or buy whatever product is on offer) and less money comes in again, and then inevitably minimum wage will be raised by the govt because people cannot afford the products. It's a vicious circle that never ends. I do not know what the answer is.
Here is the example I give to people: In 1999 I worked at the same daycare. I made $6.50 an hour and paid for an apartment nearby for my toddler son and myself. I paid $125 a month for childcare after receiving govt subsidy. And I survived. I was not on welfare, I bought my groceries, paid all my bills on time, etc. I only received a subsidy for daycare fees, which were about $400 total.
Less than a decade later, I was making $9/hour and suddenly could not afford anything. if I were to rent the exact same apartment today, it would take up over 50% of my income right off the bat, let alone rises in other regular fees such as utilities. Before I met my partner 5 years ago, I received a rent subsidy, daycare subsidy (which had actually increased so I only owed $60 a month on daycare fees out of my pocket). I received a huge amount for child tax benefit, got free healthcare premiums, GST credits, etc etc and I was barely making it because of the price of everything going up over and over. I was better off when I made only $6.50/hour than when I made $9/hr. GO FIGURE. I could pay for more things on my own, out of my own pocket, when minimum wage was far lower than it is now. I make $14/hr now and it's even worse. We struggle every month to pay our normal bills. We do not have fancy phones (I pay maybe $10 to $20 a month for a prepaid account). We only have one tv that is less than 10 years old. We have a 22 year old microwave (still works, why not lol). All of our furniture is second hand aside from 2 beds we finally bought the boys this year. I am not telling you this for sympathy lol, I just wanted to stress that I am not saying we cant afford to 'live' but spend money like water. It's far from that. Half of my pay goes on bills such as utilities, and the other half goes to groceries. We eat out (as in order pizza) once a month or every other month, otherwise we cook everything at home. It seems to me that with minimum wage in Alberta increasing 3 times in as many years, things have gotten worse and the poor must surely be poorer because we can barely make it and are above the poverty line for earnings. Daycare fees at my work are now $640/month and people on subsidy pay $94 and half the time don't get that paid on time either. We are one of the cheapest centers. Calgary and Edmonton prices are over $1000 a month per child. Yikes. But they have to pay all their staff more and more so of course the cost is going to rise.
O and I might add another example... for many years, the base earnings level in Alberta for receiving childcare subsidy was $30,000 then it went up to $36,000/yr. As of April 1, 2012, it was hiked up to $50,000 per year. If a family earns up to that amount, they will receive full daycare subsidy every month. My dad made less than that 16 years ago and somehow paid for a mortgage, 2 cars, all of our food and living expenses, etc. Now 16 years later, families making that amount get subsidized because otherwise they cannot afford almost anything. That, in my opinion, is what happens when the govt continually messes with businesses, wages, etc.
