Making Hamilton a Living Wage Community Launch, Dec. 9/11

Imagine a city where everybody earns enough to participate in their community. Imagine a place where work lifts you out of poverty. Imagine Hamilton as a Living Wage Community.

On December 9th, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction (HRPR) will be asking you to dare to dream. They want everybody working above the line.

Join them for the Launch of Living Wage Hamilton.

Friday, December 9, 2011
11am – noon
Workers Arts and Heritage Centre
55 Stuart Street, Hamilton

To RSVP or for more info email: info@livingwagehamilton.ca

HRPR, along with their community partners is launching “Living Wage Hamilton” a new initiative that hopes to engage workers, employers and the public in a conversation about what Hamilton will look like as a Living Wage Community.

Today in Hamilton, more than 25,000 people work but do not earn enough to pull themselves or their families out of poverty. This reality is having a profound impact on community health, education levels and our City’s ability to prosper. The answer is simple…it’s called a Living Wage.

What is a living wage?

It’s the hourly wage needed for a family to afford basic everyday expenses, such as housing, food, clothing, utility bills, and child care. The hourly Living Wage rate is based on the living expenses of a family of four with both parents working full-time for 37.5 hours a week.

The Living Wage rate doesn’t cover things like owning a home, saving for retirement, paying down debt or saving for your children’s education. A living wage is calculated based on what it costs to live in a specific community, so living wage rates change from community to community as living expenses change. Other communities in Ontario and across Canada are calculating their own living wage amounts based on what it costs to live in those cities.

In 2010, New Westminster and Esquimalt in British Columbia became the first two municipalities in Canada to pass living wage policies whereby all municipal staff, including contracted service staff will be paid a living wage.

In Hamilton HRPR will be engaging public, private and non-profit employers about the merits of paying a living wage. On December 9th a new website www.LivingWageHamilton.ca will reveal Hamilton’s living wage calculation.