Just under a dozen of NWT's employers credit themselves with paying staff a living wage, according to an Alternatives North news release last Wednesday.
The release of the list was timed with small business week SA国际影视传媒渢o say this is a thing that's possible,SA国际影视传媒� Alternatives North's Suzette Montreuil told Yellowknifer. SA国际影视传媒�We want to create a good sense of public relations: you want to see yourself on this poster.SA国际影视传媒�
The employers include: NWT Seniors Society, Dene Nahjo, Top of the World Travel, Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Yellowknife Education District #1, NWT Literacy Council, YWCA NWT, Crowe MacKay LLP, Coll猫ge nordique francophone, Ecology North and Alternatives North.
Regarding methodology, she said the organization contacted "several employers but there is an open invitation for any employer to contact us. We did not contact the GNWT because it was during the election campaign period."
That wage varies depending on location: In Yellowknife it's $23.95 per hour; in Hay River, $24.75 and in Inuvik $23.78. Calculated using the Canadian Living Wage Framework, it's a basic approach, covering cost of living expenses like shelter, food and clothing, in addition to government benefits. Considerations like debt and savings aren't included.
The costs are based off an assumed two-parent family, with one child in school and another in pre-school. Released in March, the Yellowknife wage spiked by $3 up from $20.96 in 2017, the last time the wage was calculated previously.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think really it comes back to, if you pay your employees adequately, you're more likely to keep them,SA国际影视传媒� Montreuil said. SA国际影视传媒淭here's some savings in not having to continually recruit and train.SA国际影视传媒�
On top of this is the high cost of living in the North, and in Yellowknife, where many of the employers on the list are based, according to Montreuil. Many are also non-profits with a few exceptions, which she says may be indicative of their wider social justice goals. However, the list is open to all participating organizations.
SA国际影视传媒淚f you're advocating for justice for people, than paying a living wage is part of the parcel,SA国际影视传媒� Montreiul said.
Other employers are keen to join them, she said. For the ones SA国际影视传媒渢hat aren't there yet,SA国际影视传媒� Montreuil said, employees who're less concerned with their immediate needs are more productive. She stressed the pay was to meet basic needs, allowing staff to focus on their work and employers to retain them for longer.
Craig Scott, executive director of Ecology North, said the organization already offered a living wage before the discussion came up. Facing competition from the Northwest Territories government and other employers, he said a competitive wage package makes the workplace more appealing.
SA国际影视传媒淚f you're not going to be paying people a living wage, it's difficult to make ends-meet,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
However, there's a difference between offering a living wage and a being certified living wage employer. He said many businesses are likely already close to offering a living wage, given the competition from government and industry positions.
For Kathryn Barry Paddock, executive director of NWT Literacy Council, it's also distinct from a minimum wage, being specifically for communities' cost of living rather than the flat rate of a territory-wide minimum wage.
SA国际影视传媒淚t efficient to provide the basics, and that's just the basics, to families and children,SA国际影视传媒� she said, adding it would alleviate some of the stress staff may carry into work. SA国际影视传媒淔or us, it's a way to demonstrate that we want to support our employees.SA国际影视传媒�
She said it's important aspect of any organization's programming and the budgeting process that SA国际影视传媒渁llows people to live in the city and live at a certain standard.SA国际影视传媒�
