In an open letter addressed to the mayor and councillors of the city of Surrey – and published in Surrey Now – chapter activist Phil Harrison writes, “On behalf of the Surrey, White Rock and Langley Chapter of the Council of Canadians, I’d like to applaud you for your approval to explore the idea of a fair wage policy for all Surrey contracts.”
Harrison adds, “Statistics Canada has placed the poverty line for a single person living in a major city in 2007 at $21,666 before tax. That works out to about $10.80 per hour. I don’t think contractors to Surrey municipality should be paying wages that are at or even close to the poverty line. A living wage needs should be $18.81 an hour in Vancouver.”
He concludes, “Other governments have already adopted a fair wage policy. Our chapter looks forward to the fair wage policy implementation in Surrey.”
The open letter can be read at http://www.thenownewspaper.com/business/City+Surrey+needs+fair+wage+policy/4808709/story.html.
