B.C. Minimum Wage Jumps to $10.25

Waitress wages boosted | BCBusiness
Minimum wage workers in B.C. got a raise this week as the final increase hiked the hourly rate to $10.25.

Minimum-wage workers rejoice this week as the last progressive increase hikes hourly wages to one of the highest rates in Canada.

If you work for the minimum wage in B.C., you just got a raise.
 
On Tuesday, the last phase of B.C.’s progressive increase in minimum wage took effect. The final raise hiked the wage up to $10.25 an hour, tying B.C. with Ontario for the highest minimum hourly wage in the country.
 
Liquor servers are also getting a bit of a wage boost. Their hourly rate increased from $8 to $9, with the rest to come from tips.
 
Just this time a year ago, workers made a mere $8 an hour – one of the lowest minimum wages in Canada at the time. Raising the rate was one of Premier Christy Clark’s promises she made when taking the reigns from Gordon Campbell. So the provincial government voted to incrementally up wages, with the first increase to $8.75 in May 2011, and the second hike to $9.50 coming in November 2011.
 
Despite the welcomed raise, the Lower Mainland’s high cost of living would still make it almost impossible for even a full-time worker making $10.25 an hour to get by. But it’s a step in the right direction.