FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government today introduced a legislative amendment to repeal the Minimum Wage Board and establish a new formal mechanism for review and consultation on setting the minimum wage.
“These changes will enable government to determine how minimum wage rates are set, and fix minimum wages more efficiently,” said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Francine Landry. “More importantly, this change will also enable us to consult more fully with the New Brunswickers who are directly affected by the minimum wage.”
The new mechanism will ensure employers, workers and stakeholders are engaged and included in a comprehensive biennial review process. The review will consider a wide range of issues including: the business impacts and socio-economic effects of the minimum wage, the cost of living and general economic conditions.
This mechanism replaces the Minimum Wage Board, which has been inactive for a number of years.
“Repealing the Minimum Wage Board will modernize our process yet maintain existing authority,” said Landry. “This will help us move quickly to facilitate an increase to the minimum wage to $10.30 an hour by the end of 2014, to $11 an hour by 2017 and eventually by the rate of inflation. This is one important way our government can immediately help families and stimulate the economy.”
The government will conduct its first comprehensive review of the minimum wage by Dec. 31, 2016 and will repeat the exercise every two years, allowing workers, employers and stakeholders the opportunity to provide input into future minimum wage increases.
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04-12-14