The Government of Saskatchewan will increase the province’s hourly minimum wage to $10.20 from $10, effective Oct. 1, 2014, and will soon introduce regulations to provide for regular indexing of the minimum wage each year.
“Increasing the minimum wage will give minimum wage earners more disposable income and improve their standard of living,” says Don Morgan, labour relations and workplace safety minister. “Indexation of the minimum wage will provide security for minimum wage earners and ensure predictability for business owners in the province.”
Since 2007, the province has increased the minimum wage in Saskatchewan six times. It was $7.95 seven years ago.
With the latest increase, the minimum wage has risen 28% since 2007, well ahead of the rate of inflation.
Highlights of the new minimum wage regulation will include the following:
- an indexation formula based on the equal weighting of the percentage changes in the consumer price index and average hourly wage for the previous year; and
- a change in the minimum wage that will be announced on or before June 30 of each year; that change coming into effect Oct. 1 of the same year.
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