CBC Reported on the minimum wage increase on PEI.

Minimum wage is going up 40 cents this year over the next 7 months. Increasing a company's cost like minimum wage when the economy is in a downtown is a horrible idea.

Some people think, oh 40 cents is nothing out of the owners pockets. The big bad business owner(s) can afford to be out 40 cents. That's great and while people view the business owners as a bad person, that's a horrible point of view. Forty cents per hour is nothing if you have a small staff. It's $16 more a week for the employee, big deal.

But what most people are doing is looking at it as if every company only has one employee. It is hardly accurate to base companies on 1 employee when there are many employees.

A company with 20 employees will end up paying an extra $8 per hour out or $320 for a week's wage. The business owners will look at profit margins and fast foods joints often look at labor cost. If the labor cost is above x%, then it's time to send people home. If the labor cost continues to be over x% then they will start cutting back hours to ensure they make the profit margins, or increases the product's costs.

Sure some Islander business owners can afford the extra 40 cents per employee but the business owners will be looking at profit margins and labor cost. The last thing we want is for them to start cutting to boost profit margins. At the end of the day when these increase come into play the owners will be looking at profit margins and how to boost it

With the 40 cent increase, the labor costs will no doubt go up quicker and when companies go above the projected labor cost then it's time to send staff home or stop scheduling for so many hours.

With fewer hours being scheduled, it affects employees incomes of the lower income earners which affects the economy even more.

All this being said, The Charlottetown Chamber of Commerce always seems to be against minimum wage increases, but that's no surprise as it's a representation of it's members. Members who own businesses.

During a recession I think it is important that government does not increase the cost to run a business operation. Staffing typically is one of a restaurant's larger expenses. We don't want to increase it at a time when everyone is cutting back.

I think government should suspend this minimum wage increase and hold off until the economy starts to turn around. If the recession starts to turn around in a year, give them the raise then.

We have a delicate situation where job creation and job loss prevention is key, not making it more expensive for companies to do business.

Sadly, the numbers are actually a little bit worse for businesses, since they actually pay more in EI and CPP for those workers, too. (Don't forget, whatever is deducted from the worker's paycheque for these programs, the employer is actually contributing that much again for CPP and 1.4 times as much for EI!)

As a former small business owner, labour was by far the most expensive cost in my whole operation. People need to make a living wage, and if a business isn't strong enough to support paying people decent money, then perhaps they shouldn't be in business.

But, there are those extra costs that an employer incurs that its employees may not realize. It would have cost me (the employer) hundreds of dollars a month at one point to have a really crappy health plan for just TWO employees! There is much about the way the system works that discourages us from hiring because employees just cost so much.

I'm happy to pay my employees a good wage, but when other organizations have their hand in the cookie jar, too, it starts to become ridiculous. Not to mention that a small business often can't afford to hire someone to administer payroll, so it's just one more burden on an over-worked owner and something else to divert his time and attention away from actually running and growing the business that supports local workers.

Small business account for a very large percentage of Canada's workers (sorry, I'm too lazy right now to look up the stats) and they are hit hardest because people think that huge companies can afford the few cents. Many small businesses are just getting by, just like families. But, they continue to operate because they enjoy their trade/craft or just like working for themselves, even if it's not as lucrative as working for someone else.

What if your household expenses went up a few hundred dollars a week? I guarantee you there are many small business in your community that will feel that hit just as much as your household would.

The solution isn't crappy wages for all. I really wish that small businesses were exempted from the payroll program. Especially given that a lot of those businesses only have part time employees, who get most of their deductions back at tax time. (Worth noting that as a business owner, I've *never* received any of that money back even though my part time employees consistently received tax refunds. Just sayin' . . .)

Small business owners get shafted because the public thinks all employers are big corporations who are out to take advantage of employees and consumers alike. So, the public thinks that policies that stick it to employers is somehow their tool for fighting back.

Run the small businesses out of business, and all you'll be left with is large corporations to provide your products and services. Is that really what you want? I'm pretty sure it's what the corporations want.

Ontario has the same plans, a old snip from a website:

Beginning March 31, 2008, the current minimum wage of $8.00 per hour rises to $8.75, followed by rises to:

$9.50 as of March 31, 2009
$10.25 as of March 31, 2010

In Ontario alone we have 3 call centers that start at minimum wage for agents, 600+ employees, we feel it!

I have a feeling this is going to hurt when it comes to my IT budget this year.