ALL of them should have been
Why we need a minimum wage hike......
- Thread starter Snobike Mike
- Start date
ALL of them should have been
I agree completely.
It's funny, I was thinking about bank employees working 50 hrs but getting paid for 37.5 as a standard week vs. 50 hrs at minimum wage... Let's say bank employees get paid $14/hr vs. the $10.25 minimum wage. My employees don't work extra, if they are required to they get paid for it. I have rarely seen employees work extra in minimum wage jobs. When I worked in Mcdonalds and timmies as a teen we never stayed over and if we had to we were compensated for it always.
37.5 x $14.00 = $525.00
50 x $ 10.25 = $512.50
It's not too far apart and when you factor in minimum wage who is really better off.
37.5 x $14.00 = $525.00
50 x $ 10.25 = $512.50
It's not too far apart and when you factor in minimum wage who is really better off.
I have at least 4 years of retail experience, 3 of it with Staples. I started at 8 and change. Officially part time so medical benefits and stuff wouldn't have to be paid. I begged my bosses for hours every week and managed to get close to full-time hours, sometimes more but never had benefits. Left Staples around $9.13 I think. This was one of the most stressful times of my life trying to stave off bankruptcy and dealing with a very sick gf. You can't live on that pay unless you are being supported.
I also have 5+ years working at a bank. I started at probably 26-28k/yr at level 2. My annual pay raises were never more than $200. My bonuses were always in the 1K-2K range. Every time GO transit raised the cost of fare it completely wiped out my annual increase. I've been a squeaky wheel and HR admits they will not pay cost of living increases. There is also an unofficial policy where they will not pay you more than 10-12% of your previous position no matter how many levels unless you manage to get VP approval for an exception. After a long time of trying I finally got a promotion on contract to try and get my foot in the door in a different department and ran into problems with acting and novice mgrs. My contract is up in May and I have a problem now because taking the risk also meant taking a position that wasn't a secondment. I managed to get a pay exemption and managed to stave off bankruptcy longer. Now I am really in trouble.
Last year the CEO published a letter where he wanted to ask the government (or did) to help contribute money so younger people could have some money to apply to savings. The idea was that the government would top up their pay.
Charity begins at home I say, and I sit and watch the executive managers with their multi-million dollar bonuses for playing golf, never a care in the world. Meanwhile a whole bunch of us are wage slaves.
Not everyone at a bank is a cocaine fueled investment banker or in the retail arm. There's many people that are cogs keeping the whole thing running.
You probably remember last year reading about how RBC was outsourcing their IT to India. Guess what, they weren't the only ones doing it. They were just the ones that got openly caught.
The executives outsource this and that and get their bonus. And it usually doesn't work out and it has to be undone. But by then they have moved on to some other cocaine fuelled binge.
This angers me. It should not be this way.
I also have 5+ years working at a bank. I started at probably 26-28k/yr at level 2. My annual pay raises were never more than $200. My bonuses were always in the 1K-2K range. Every time GO transit raised the cost of fare it completely wiped out my annual increase. I've been a squeaky wheel and HR admits they will not pay cost of living increases. There is also an unofficial policy where they will not pay you more than 10-12% of your previous position no matter how many levels unless you manage to get VP approval for an exception. After a long time of trying I finally got a promotion on contract to try and get my foot in the door in a different department and ran into problems with acting and novice mgrs. My contract is up in May and I have a problem now because taking the risk also meant taking a position that wasn't a secondment. I managed to get a pay exemption and managed to stave off bankruptcy longer. Now I am really in trouble.
Last year the CEO published a letter where he wanted to ask the government (or did) to help contribute money so younger people could have some money to apply to savings. The idea was that the government would top up their pay.
Charity begins at home I say, and I sit and watch the executive managers with their multi-million dollar bonuses for playing golf, never a care in the world. Meanwhile a whole bunch of us are wage slaves.
Not everyone at a bank is a cocaine fueled investment banker or in the retail arm. There's many people that are cogs keeping the whole thing running.
You probably remember last year reading about how RBC was outsourcing their IT to India. Guess what, they weren't the only ones doing it. They were just the ones that got openly caught.
The executives outsource this and that and get their bonus. And it usually doesn't work out and it has to be undone. But by then they have moved on to some other cocaine fuelled binge.
This angers me. It should not be this way.
Which is still meaningless if the total income isn't enough to keep you housed, clothed, and fed.
Your story is a common one dude. I worked in the bank and was surrounded by people like you hard working and never being let go forward. When I became an employer I understood why some of it's done out of necessity and some of it being just pure greed.
Fact of the matter is that small business owners are not in the same boat as the CEO or the 1% of the population that is well off. They work crazy hours and are on call all the time. They don't need to hire someone for $12 or $14 because they don't need skilled employees, they need someone to do basic things like make a burger or greet customers etc... Industries that require more from employees usually pay more.
Small business owners are not out there to screw over their employees. They need them and want them so I don't think any small business owner would purposely screw over their employees. Having such an increase to their operations budget can be harmful. It should be done over time in gradual manner. Our prices have not gone up much over the last 3-4 years infact they have come down in some areas. They have gone up to compensate when suppliers raised their prices, but that's done over a year or two years not right away and in small increments. This will put some people in an uncomfortable position.
This government is not doing it for the welfare of the population. They want to get votes. It's a hot topic so they decided to go in this route. They will **** up the economy more than help it.
Fact of the matter is that small business owners are not in the same boat as the CEO or the 1% of the population that is well off. They work crazy hours and are on call all the time. They don't need to hire someone for $12 or $14 because they don't need skilled employees, they need someone to do basic things like make a burger or greet customers etc... Industries that require more from employees usually pay more.
Small business owners are not out there to screw over their employees. They need them and want them so I don't think any small business owner would purposely screw over their employees. Having such an increase to their operations budget can be harmful. It should be done over time in gradual manner. Our prices have not gone up much over the last 3-4 years infact they have come down in some areas. They have gone up to compensate when suppliers raised their prices, but that's done over a year or two years not right away and in small increments. This will put some people in an uncomfortable position.
This government is not doing it for the welfare of the population. They want to get votes. It's a hot topic so they decided to go in this route. They will **** up the economy more than help it.
I'm not sure about other industries, but we usually increase prices when our back end prices go up. We try to stay within ranges and compete on pricing so the consumer the best bang for their buck. What do you think happens when labour costs go up? Prices go up dude. They'll end up in the same situation.
I agree with the wages going up, but in increments of 25 cents not 75 cents and not to $14 which is retarded.
Motorcycle Mike
Well-known member
Why do so many people sound like they are owed something? Or even owed a total income that is enough to pay the bills?
If you spent 3 years at Staples and only got a buck raise or 5 years at a bank and got next to nothing, then keep searching for something better. Learn more in demand skills and improve yourself. Change what you do entirely if it will earn more money. Find out what is in demand and what pays and go for it... sounds like you've got nothing to lose anyway.
If the company values your skills, they will pay for it, if they don't they will find someone else. If no one will work for the wages they are offering then they will be forced to pay more. The people that settle into working for low wages and sticking with it are causing the problem themselves. Use companies as they use you -- get the experiences you need to build a proper resume and move up or move on. You stagnating for 8 years for little money is your doing, no one else's.
Don't be scared of change (location, function, etc), don't be scared of work, and don't be scared to learn and you will make more than minimum wage.
If you spent 3 years at Staples and only got a buck raise or 5 years at a bank and got next to nothing, then keep searching for something better. Learn more in demand skills and improve yourself. Change what you do entirely if it will earn more money. Find out what is in demand and what pays and go for it... sounds like you've got nothing to lose anyway.
If the company values your skills, they will pay for it, if they don't they will find someone else. If no one will work for the wages they are offering then they will be forced to pay more. The people that settle into working for low wages and sticking with it are causing the problem themselves. Use companies as they use you -- get the experiences you need to build a proper resume and move up or move on. You stagnating for 8 years for little money is your doing, no one else's.
Don't be scared of change (location, function, etc), don't be scared of work, and don't be scared to learn and you will make more than minimum wage.
Just a side note to this, I pay my general laborers 16 - 17 an hour depending on their job, and I can virtually never find competent staff. Drunk, late, mouthy, or just generally can't find a way to work. Weird. I'm not fanatical about this, but I have little patience hearing about people hating their minimum wage when I have such a hard time locating people to work for 16-17 an hour for unskilled labor. The only skill I need need is a clear criminal record and a good work ethic.
What do they do? I can tell you where to find some good employees probably. Get 2x the efficiency and they'll stay with you longer.
What I find funny is Walmart pays their employees more than minimum wage to start. as bad as they are (they are no where near ideal) they still do better than others. getting full time and benefits there requires an act of god combined with having the luck of the devil but it's still better than some employers.
Red_Liner740
Well-known member
Bingo.
Who said a minimum wage job has to be enough to support you and 3 kids? It was never meant to. Gone are the days of "crap, i need to make more money, gotta get my *** in gear" and now we have the entitled "waah, i cant buy the latest Iphone 5....whatchu gonna do for me government?!"
Who said a minimum wage job has to be enough to support you and 3 kids? It was never meant to. Gone are the days of "crap, i need to make more money, gotta get my *** in gear" and now we have the entitled "waah, i cant buy the latest Iphone 5....whatchu gonna do for me government?!"
Motorcycle Mike
Well-known member
My brother, who owns a concrete floor company, has the same issue. He can never find labourers worth a damn even when he pays them $16 or $17 to start... so many people are too lazy for physical work and would rather make less but also work less -- a high minimum wage doesn't help that situation at all.
As for where to go for money... I worked hard labour jobs like construction and for a brief time Pepsi to fund my education so I could then go from being a driver/labourer into management.
Did you know that Pepsi and Coke drivers make upwards of $30/hour now? It was $16/hour in the late 90's when I did it. It is hard work though, driving a DZ or short AZ into tiny parking lots or parking on the street and moving thousands of 2 litres, etc, down rickety old wooden stairs into basements 4 feet high.
I had years of city driving experience (AZ trucks) to help me get educated (BSc and MSc) then spent a few years overseas teaching English and ended up being an account manager for a training company as I didn't get anything in my field (Environmental Science/GIS/Remote Sensing). When I returned to Canada my resume only got me into more driving jobs... but a few years of that combined with having degrees combined with experience in training and account management quickly got me into management at the company I work for. I am currently part-way up the chain now, but am thinking of changing directions once again. Work and life has gotten too mundane, I may need to mix it up again.
That's more directed to the american parent company than the canadian one. when walmart came to canada about 20 years ago they said they wouldn't do sales, except canadians will buy **** that's on sale even if they don't need it regardless of the price it is regularly... now walmart does sales... also you may notice many things walmart sells are exactly the same price as everywhere else (ie xbox, ps4, wii)... although they do get some exclusives.
The way that I hear it, it's remarkably easy to get full time hours at Wal-Mart. It just isn't easy to actually be declared full time, which means no benefits. They also have a roughly 50% (canadian statistic; the American statistic is something like 75%) annual employee turn-over rate.
An interesting comparison is to Costco, though the two companies obviously operate on a different model. Costco is a very profitable company, as is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has a very high employee turn-over rate. Costco has a very small employee turn-over (typically less than 10% per year). Wal-Mart pays just over minimum wage to start. Costco starts around the same level (for a cashier, for example) but because of their employee retention rate the average employee makes significantly more, because of regular time-in and merit raises.
So you can make money while paying your people better. It just takes some thought on your business model. You can either strip mine the economy, or you can build it. The choice is up to the business, and the people who give that business their patronage.
How many salaried employees know that they are entitled to overtime pay if they work over?
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The way CIBC handles the overtime issue since the lawsuit is that you aren't allowed to work overtime without agreed permission from your manager in advance. No permission, no overtime.
If you stay longer than your shift, there is no record of you having made the case for overtime as per policy.
If you stay longer than your shift, there is no record of you having made the case for overtime as per policy.
