George Osborne: Hamilton Roundtable

Hamilton Roundtable: In Hamilton, a coalition of community groups including the Social Planning and Research Council and the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, say a living wage is $14.95. Full-time city workers already pass that benchmark. Last fall, the city started to study the adoption of a living wage for contractors and part-time workers. With 30,000 of our neighbours numbered among the working poor, it is past time. , according to Hamilton Spectator. Converts to a rise in the minimum wage even include Conservative treasurer George Osborne of the United Kingdom. No wonder. Most poor households are working without getting ahead in a growing economy. Even in hard times fairness is not a lot to ask. The success of efforts to increase the general minimum wage in Ontario from $10.25 per hour to $11 this June could signal a new day for decency in what has been for too long a dog-eat-dog economy. The need to take action against low-wage work is not simply a local preoccupation. There is a growing realization that poverty stunts economic growth in times of weak consumer demand by driving up crippling social costs such as health care. Most open economies with a similar political history are experiencing the same sea-change given the enduring nature of the cheap labour challenge. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.