Nova Scotia minimum wage going up in April

The Nova Scotia minimum wage is increasing to $15.20 an hour on April 1. (Robert Owen-Wahl via Pixabay)

By Rick Conrad

Nova Scotia’s minimum wage will be going up by 20 cents an hour to $15.20 on April 1.

Jill Balser, Nova Scotia’s minister of labour, skills and immigration, announced the raise in a news release on Wednesday.

Nova Scotia’s minimum wage review committee established a formula which would adjust the minimum wage by the national consumer price index, plus one percentage point, from the rate set the previous April.

This year, that means an increase of 4.7 per cent over last April’s rate, which was $14.50 an hour.

“This year has been very difficult for many Nova Scotians – business owners and workers alike,” Balser said in the release.

“I am grateful to the minimum wage review committee for putting forward the perspective of both employers and employees so we can ensure a balanced approach to increasing the minimum wage.”

Even with the adjustment, the basic rate is still below what some researchers say is a living wage.

In a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, released in September, the living wage is defined as the hourly rate that a household with two full-time workers and two children (ages 2 and 7) requires to meet its basic needs. 

The group includes government transfers such as the Canada Child Benefit and deductions, as well as employment income to arrive at a living wage.

For the southern region of Nova Scotia, which includes Queens County, the living wage was calculated at $25.05 an hour.

The group has called on the Nova Scotia government to increase the minimum wage to $20 an hour.

According to the province, about 26,200 Nova Scotians or six per cent of workers, worked for minimum wage from April 2022 to March 2023. They worked primarily in retail, food and accommodation.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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