HALIFAX/K’jipuktuk – The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia has released its annual living wage update for Newfoundland and Labrador, in a report that also includes living wages for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The report highlights the rising costs of living and offers recommendations for supporting low-wage workers across the region.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the new living wages are:
- $24.10 for Central,
- $24.70 for Eastern,
- $23.10 for Western and
- $27.30 for Labrador-Northern Peninsula.
This year, the living wage increases ranged from just under 1 percent to just over 2 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Co-author Russell Williams, Political Science Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, says, “The living wage has increased again this year in Newfoundland and Labrador. While the general rate of inflation has slowed, the cost of housing and food continues to go up at a faster rate. These are essential costs households can’t avoid and it’s straining budgets further. This is bad news for low-income working households. The province already has a large “living wage gap” – a gap between what people earn and what they need to earn in order to cover the basic costs of life. This is a serious social and economic problem. Governments and employers need to do more to close this gap.”
As CCPA-NS Director, Christine Saulnier, co-author of the report, explains, “Without more effective government policies and higher wages supporting workers to at least keep pace with the cost of living, they are faced with very difficult choices about their monthly budgets, often sacrificing their health.”
Saulnier continues, “Governments could help address the gap in living wages if they chose to act more decisively in support of broad-ranging policies. As outlined in our recommendations section, federal and provincial governments must provide more income support and invest in housing, transportation, food security and public services like child care and health care to make life more affordable.”
“Economic policy decisions in Newfoundland and Labrador have not been focused on supporting good jobs. In addition to fair wages, good jobs provide decent working conditions, benefits, equal pay for work of equal value, and access to paid sick leave. Governments must do more to protect and support decent working conditions, strong labour standards and workers’ rights so that every worker in Newfoundland and Labrador can thrive, not just survive,” said Jessica McCormick, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.
Our calculations show that Labrador and the Northern Peninsula living wage region face unique challenges–the required living wage of $27.30 an hour is the second highest in Atlantic Canada and among the highest in the country. Higher transportation and food costs combine to make Labrador and other very rural and remote parts of the province difficult places to afford the necessities of life. Many communities across the province also face challenges finding housing and accessing basic services, including health care and child care.
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The report, 2024 Living Wages for Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: Closing the Gap between the Cost of Living and Low-Waged Employment, is available for download at www.policyalternatives.ca.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Cherise Carlaw at [email protected] or (902) 943-1513 (cell).
The CCPA-NS is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with social, economic, and environmental justice.
