Manitoba's minimum wage going up Oct. 1

The minimum wage is going up in Manitoba this fall.

The province announced Thursday the minimum wage will increase to $11.65 anhour from $11.35 an hour as of Oct. 1.

"We are providing predictable and sustainable increases to Manitoba's minimum wage, which achieves the right balance benefiting both employees and employers," said Manitoba's Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen, in a release.

"Based on Manitoba's Consumer Price Index for 2018, the minimum wage increase will help our economy continue to attract new investment and participation in the workforce."

'Families are forced to make tough choices'

The 30-cent adjustment based on the province's 2018 inflation rate of 2.5 cents, rounded up to the nearest five centsdoes not go far enough, saysManitoba Federation of Labour presidentKevin Rebeck.

Rebeck called the province's minimum wage a "poverty wage"in a statementfollowing the government's announcement.

"No one should work full-time and live in poverty. But that is exactly what the Pallister government is forcing thousands of workers to do," he said.

"Contrary to the myths, most minimum wage workers are adults, and the majority are women. Thousands of families are forced to make tough choices between paying the rent and buying groceries because our minimum wage isn't enough to allow people to make ends meet, even with a full-time job."

In 2018, the minimum wage rose 20 cents from $11.15 to $11.35.

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