Minimum wage worries

BEDFORD/SACKVILLE
By Yvette d'Entremont and Kim Moar
The Weekly News
Local business owners are concerned about the impact next week's minimum wage increase to $8.60 an hour from $8.10 will have on their bottom line.
"Anytime there's an increase in labour it will impact the business. When minimum wage goes up, the employer pays more into everything from EI, CPP and workers compensation," said Janice Butler, owner of the Great Canadian Dollar Store on Sackville Drive.
"As the payroll increases, you have to pay more into everything ...You can only take so many increases before you have to put the prices up."
Chickenburger owner Colin MacDonald said his restaurant has always prided itself on being able to pay its employees better than minimum wage. But the 50-cent an hour increase that takes effect April 1 will make that more difficult.
"This will provide a challenge to keep that up," he said.
MacDonald said the increase doesn't just affect the bottom line when it comes to new employees, but existing staff as well. He said some full-time employees may resent students and other part-timers coming in at such a high rate, and will expect a similar increase.
"So there's a bit of a chain reaction," he said.
A similar concern is echoed by Jeff Mayhew, owner of Sportwheels in Lower Sackville.
"I'm concerned because I was paying more all along and it meant something to my employees. When you're paying above minimum wage, employees have a sense of pride and standing," Mayhew said.
"If someone's paying $10 an hour and minimum wage is creeping up to that, they're expecting a lot more. It catches up with you, and I predict four to five years from now I'll have to pay $13 or $14 an hour to keep up."
Cathy Oulton, owner of Springvale Nurseries in Hammonds Plains, hires about 10 seasonal workers each year. While some of the more experienced staff would make more than minimum wage, Oulton said it's not a lot more than new hires will now be making.
"It takes the shine off what they've been adjusted to. It just makes them generally unhappy," she said.
Despite attempts by small business owners to get the province to delay the minimum wage increase, the Conservative government will push ahead with its plan to phase in increases over the next year. The first hike takes place April 1.
Wages will then increase to $9.20 from $8.60 on April 1, 2010, and to $9.65 on Oct. 1, 2010.
While local business owners seem to agree that everyone deserves a fair wage, they believe the increases may be too much for some businesses to bear.
"It's really hard when you have so many increases in such a short period of time," said Butler, who predicts dollar items at stores like hers could become a thing of the past as business owners struggle with increased costs from all sides.
"The wage may go up, but in the end you'll have to pay a lot more for your $1 hamburger, and that $1 item will become non-existent," Butler said.
Although Oulton's business selling shrubs, trees, perennials and annuals isn't even open yet, it's already costing her more money.
"Where are you going to recoup that, other than raising the product prices, and I think that's what you're going to see," Oulton said.
weekly@hfxnews.ca