Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Raises coming for 'alternate minimum wage' workers in B.C.

Money/Shutterstock The B.C. government will gradually increase pay for alternate minimum wage workers including resident caretakers and liquor servers.

 ShutterstockMoney/Shutterstock

The B.C. government will gradually increase pay for alternate minimum wage workers including resident caretakers and liquor servers.

“No one working for minimum wage, full-time, year-round should be living in poverty,” says Minister of Labour Harry Bains. “Workers deserve a minimum level of protection so that, regardless of a person’s job description, they don’t earn a wage that is distinctly less than the general minimum wage.”

The provincial government will eliminate the liquor server wage by 2021 and incrementally increase wages for specific groups of workers that do not earn the general hourly rate. Wages will increase for liquor servers, resident caretakers and live-in camp leaders on June 1, 2018. Farm workers paid by piece rate will see an increase as of Jan 1, 2019.

The changes are based on recommendations made by the Fair Wages Commission. Here are more details about when the increases will happen:

Liquor servers – incremental increases on June 1 each year, beginning June 2018, until the general minimum wage is reached, of at least $15.20 per hour, in 2021.

Piece-rate farm workers – 11.5 per cent increase to all piece rates on Jan. 1, 2019, with further study to take place.

Resident caretakers – 11.5 per cent increase June 2018, followed by increases of 9.5 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 4.1 per cent in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively (wages vary depending on building size).

Live-in camp leaders – same per cent increases as resident caretakers, until they reach $121.65/per day, in 2021.

Live-in home-support workers – abolishment of the alternate minimum wage for this group, as it covers very few or no workers. The general minimum wage will apply to any workers remaining in this category.