Minimum wage goes up June 1 in B.C. as businesses face COVID-19 challenges

BC's Labour Minister Harry Bains says he understands the pressures facing employers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but workers are also struggling and the minimum wage will increase as planned on Monday.

The BC government announced a series of minimum wage increases in 2018 and the June 1st wage boost goes up 75 cents per hour to $14.60.

Bains says Labour Ministry data shows 60 per cent of people earning minimum wage in BC are female and 93 per cent of the province's minimum wage paying jobs are in the service sector, including cleaning services, grocery stores and restaurants.

He says businesses are able to receive tax breaks and payment deferral options as part of the government's $5 billion pandemic relief plan, which also includes a $1.5 billion economic recovery fund.

Statistics Canada reported BC's unemployment rate jumped to 11.5 per cent in April, with almost 400,000 lost jobs since March as businesses laid off workers, with some closing permanently.

BC's minimum wage is will go up to $15.20 an hour by June 2021.