A petition drive kicked off across the Lower Mainland Thursday morning with a lofty goal: to see B.C.’s minimum wage increased by nearly 50 per cent.
The BC Federation of Labour is petition for the province to raise the rate to $15 per hour, up from $10.25.
The group was handing out information and getting people to sign its petition “Fight for 15.” The petition, which you can sign online, has 18,000 signatures and counting.
President Irene Lanzinger says the jump in pay is much needed for workers.
"It takes between $13 and $14 to live at the poverty line in British Columbia. And so we say working full time and living in poverty is not fair,” she told CTV News.
The majority of minimum wage workers in the province – 63 per cent – are women, she added.
The campaign will continue throughout the year but this month is focusing on students who are struggling to pay for post-secondary studies while working minimum wage jobs.
Lanzinger says post-secondary students in B.C. are leaving school with an average of $35,000 debt – a figure she says amounts to an insurmountable obstacle for a young person entering the workforce.
The labour group’s goals are aligned with the federal New Democrats, who promise to bring back the $15 wage for federal employees – provided they form the next government.
Have your say: Should B.C.'s minimum wage be raised to $15?
