Human Resources, Labour and
Employment
December 22, 2009
Minimum
Wage to Increase on January 1
Effective January 1,
2010, the provincial minimum wage will increase by 50
cents to $9.50 per hour. This increase represents
another step by the Provincial Government toward meeting
its commitment of achieving a minimum wage of $10 per
hour by 2010.
�The Williams Government
is dedicated to ensuring all Newfoundlanders and
Labradorians are able to share in the growing prosperity
of our province,� said the Honourable Susan Sullivan,
Minister of Human resources, Labour and Employment. �Our
plan to increase the minimum wage to $10 through a
gradual series of increases was based on extensive
consultations with employers and workers. I am confident
these increases will allow our province to offer one of
the most attractive and competitive work environments in
the country, and I look forward to achieving our $10 per
hour wage target this July.�
The current series of
increases to the minimum wage began on January 1, 2009,
when the minimum wage was increased to $8.50 per hour.
The decision to implement 50 cent increases to the
minimum wage every six months reflects a balanced
approach that achieves the Provincial Government�s
commitment while recognizing the need for employers to
have time to prepare for the increases. The final
scheduled increase will take effect on July 1, 2010.
Increasing earned incomes
is one of the goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
This strategy was developed with broad community input
to meet the Provincial Government�s commitment to make
Newfoundland and Labrador the province with the lowest
level of poverty in Canada by 2014. Budget 2009:
Building on Our Strong Foundation allocated $132.2
million to invest in new initiatives to prevent, reduce
and alleviate poverty. Minister Sullivan recently
released a progress report for the strategy that
revealed Newfoundland and Labrador has moved from being
a province with one of the highest levels of poverty in
Canada to being the province with the third lowest level
since the strategy�s implementation.
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Media contact:
Jennifer Collingwood
Director of Communications
Department of Human Resources, Labour and Employment
709-729-0753, 690-2498
jennifercollingwood@gov.nl.ca
2009 12 22
10:05 a.m.
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