Link: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1495889
Summary
This article is about the minimum wage that employers pay to their employees are rising. Back in 2003, the minimum wage for adult workers was $6.85, but now the current wage of $8.75 will rise to $9.50 on march 31. It is under the law that
"100% of net earnings are deducted from social assistance cheques for recipients for the first three months, but after that it's a 50% deduction so there will be a little extra then"
This raise is part of the provincial government's poverty reduction strategy which is to reduce the number of children living in poverty, estimated by 25% over five years. The government has also scheduled the next minimum wage increase for next year which would have a total increase of $3.40 per hour to the minimum wage since 2003. Also, it is expected that student minimum wage will also rise on March 31.
Connection
This article is connected to chapter 16 in accounting 12 by wage and deductions. These employees are payed by wages for their labour on an hourly basis. They are fortunate to receive $0.75 more than usual but as said in the article, "for those on social assistance, the increase will mean "not a lot"". Of course, it is better than nothing. Since this increase is stil a bit tight to workers, they would still have to face payroll deductions from their gross pay. Deductions such as income tax, RRSP, and maybe union dues deduction may even lower their net pay to a point where employees are devastated.
Reflection
In my point of view, it seems like this amount for minimum wage is not bad to students but a bit restricted to adults. Adults have more to worry about such as paying bills and maybe even taking care of their family. However, I think it really depends on what kind of labour the employee is performing and how much work you have to put into it. Commissions would help the troubled people more because it can influence them into working harder and making more sales. It can also demonstrate their strong performance to their employers and hopefully earning them a raise. Overall, this improvement would definately decrease the number of poverty for people, especially childen.
