EDMONTON – A new report says Alberta's minimum wage freeze could hurt the pockets of a quarter million workers.
With data from Statistics Canada, Public Interest Alberta's 2019 "Low Wage Report" shows 245,300 out of the province's 1,960,400 "can legally have their wages frozen this year."
Alberta's minimum wage is $15, and $13 for workers under the age of 18.
"The minimum wage freeze means a small pay cut this year, and if it continues over time, it will result in a big pay cut to the lowest wage workers who are already struggling," Public Interest Alberta Executive Director Joel French said.
Of those 245,000, the report says 80,000 are in Edmonton, where 108,100 workers earn less than the city's living wage of $16.51 an hour.
According to Statistics Canada, 61.6 per cent of minimum wage earners in Alberta are women, and 75.5 per cent are over the age of 20.
