The living wage in Guelph-Wellington now sits at $18.10 an hour as the Ontario Living Wage Network released their updated calculations on Monday, showing a $1.10 increase workers need in their hourly pay to cover the actual costs of living in the community.
According to the Ontario Living Wage Network, these 2021 living wage rates reflect changing demographics in Ontario and take inflation into account.
In previous years the calculations were based on two working adults who supported two small children, while the 2021 rates are an aggregate of data.
The updated system of calculating the living wage means the figures released Monday now take into account a weighted average between a family of four, a single parent with one child and a single adult.
“We’ve decided to make an aggregate family. We take our family of four, what a single parent would have to face as far as expenses and an adult living on their own, and we aggregate those three living situations and get a weighted average,” said Craig Pickthorne, communications coordinator for the Ontario Living Wage Network. “The data is weighted by the statistical prevalence of each family type, so what you get is a more accurate representation of what workers have to face.”
The jump in the living wage means minimum wage workers in Guelph-Wellington are currently falling behind by $3.75 per hour.
Pre-tax this means minimum wage workers in Guelph, based on a 35 hour paid work week, are falling behind by $131.25 per week, $525 a month, and based on a 50 week work year, $6,300 per year.
On Oct. 1 Ontario’s minimum wage workers received a wage increase of .10 cents per hour.
“Low wage precarious work is on the rise across Ontario. Workers across the province, including in Guelph-Wellington, are struggling to make ends meet," said Dominica McPherson, director of the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination. "We know the solution is decent work that offers fair wages and fair working conditions, and the living wage gives a look at the cost of living in the community and the cost to get by."
The calculation includes basic items such as food, shelter, transportation and childcare, as well as utilities, internet and a modest amount for recreation.
It does not include debt repayment, retirement savings, or costs of home ownership.
"The living wage draws attention to the inadequacies of the existing minimum wage," said McPherson. "We know that far too many workers are working full-time jobs or piecing together multiple part-time or temporary jobs and are just not able to make ends meet."
Of the 23 regions updated, Guelph-Wellington fell just outside of the top 10 into 11th place behind Leeds, Grenville, Lanark Counties which shows an updated living wage of $18.25.
Toronto was the highest at $22.08 per hour, followed by Halton Region at $20.75 and Peel Region at $19.80.
The region with the lowest living wage was Sault Ste. Marie at $16.20, followed by Thunder Bay with $16.30 and London with a living wage of $16.55.
Due to the pandemic, this is the first time the living wage has been recalculated since 2019.
While some regions are reporting higher living wages, Pickthorne said the number of living wage employers has increased from pre-pandemic levels.
“There was a small, of course, period in the summer where our certifications of employers plateau somewhat, now we’re signing up living wage employers at a rate that was faster than before the pandemic in 2019,” said Pickthorne.
Reduced stress in employees, a lower turnover rate and a better quality of living were all reasons pointed out by Pickthorne as to why the number of living wage employers has been increasing across Ontario.
Guelph currently boasts 53 companies that have signed up and are certified living wage employers, of which 16 were employers that signed on during the pandemic.
“Overwhelmingly what we hear from employers who pay a living wage is that they associate cost savings with hiring and training, and have found they experience less turnover and increased productivity,” said McPherson. “Many employers that have made this commitment not only do it as the right thing to do, but they also see it as a benefit to their bottom line.”
