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Group pushes for Greater Sudbury to adopt a living wage for municipal employees

The Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre is encouraging residents of Greater Sudbury to support Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh’s motion, seconded by Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo, for the city to investigate the adoption of a living wage for its employees
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The push for a living wage has reached city council chambers, with Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh tabling a motion last week to have the city investigate the implications of adopting one.

The motion, seconded by Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo, seeks information on what it would mean for the city to adopt a living wage, which has been calculated by the Ontario Living Wage Network to be $16.98 in Greater Sudbury. 

With minimum wage under provincial jurisdiction, whatever city council ends up adopting would be limited to municipal employees. 

The motion will be voted on during the city’s Feb. 15 finance and administration committee meeting, prior to which the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre is encouraging people to lobby city councillors to vote in its favour.

“The living wage is something that we care about and something Sudbury employees need,” centre communications officer Tt Scott said.

“They’re stuck in poverty, they’re being stuck in cycles and are typically the workers who are marginalized, who are trapped in part-time or underpaid low-wage positions.”

A living wage is an amount of money estimated to bring people out of poverty and allow them to interact in society, she said, adding that anyone working full-time hours should be afforded this ability.

The centre sent correspondence to city council about a living wage in advance of 2022 budget deliberations a few months ago, and Scott said they’re happy to see McIntosh and Jakubo take up the cause.

It’s an issue she said has been thrust into greater public consciousness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, whose economic impacts have been disproportionately spread throughout society.

The motion of city council is limited to seeking information, which the city’s elected officials will later use to determine whether they want to adopt a living wage.

In principle, McIntosh said a living wage makes sense.

“Work should lift you out of poverty,” she said, adding that there are a lot of working poor in Greater Sudbury and that the minimum wage, while at $15 per hour, is slowly creeping up to the level of a living wage, but hasn’t kept up with the cost of living.

Recent months, she said, “really put poverty out in front of us, and the difference between those who are doing well in the pandemic and those who are not.”

Keeping minimum wage earners in poverty is adding to people’s stress levels and contributing to mental health and addictions issues, Jakubo said. 

“None of those are good from a community perspective, but they also place additional strain on our already stretched health care and social services sectors in the city.”

It’s unclear how many municipal employees currently earn less than $16.98 – a detail to be included in the report being requested from city administration – but McIntosh said there are certain job classifications whose pay scales drop below the livable wage threshold.

While some of these positions are seasonal and often held by students, she believes that students should be included in whatever living wage the city adopts.

“I know that there are students who are making it on their own, so they don’t have the bank of mom and dad,” she said, adding that people take it for granted that all parents are supporting their kids, which is not necessarily the case.

The motion tabled by McIntosh and Jakubo also seeks to include contractors employed by the city and would affect requests for proposals. 

Although their influence is limited to municipal employees, McIntosh said that she hopes other people in the community will become inspired enough to take a closer look at how much they pay their employees.

The Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre has drafted a petition they are encouraging people to sign and give to their local councillor in a bid to encourage them to vote in favour of the McIntosh/Jakubo motion on Feb. 15. The petition can be accessed by clicking here

They are also hosting an online event at 3 p.m. on Feb. 12 as a last-minute effort to reach out to city councillors. More information, including registration details, can be found by clicking here

More information on the centre’s efforts can also be found by phoning 705-470-2123, or emailing [email protected]

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.


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Tyler Clarke

About the Author: Tyler Clarke

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
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