It’s the right thing to do, Coun. Lindell Smith told his colleagues Wednesday night ahead of voting on his motion to approve a living wage requirement for most of Halifax Regional Municipality’s contracted workers.
The Halifax North Peninsula councillor put forward the motion to have council adopt a supplier code of conduct, with living wage requirements for the municipality’s contracts for solid waste services, custodial and janitorial services, snow and ice management and security services, effective April 1.
The living wage requirement figure is extracted from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report released in September, which determined the current living wage for Halifax is $21.80 per hour.
In a staff report submitted to council, senior procurement consultants Stephen Terry and Eric MacDonald calculated the average labour rate for all 2019 contracts in Nova Scotia for:
- Snow, including streets, sidewalk, trails and facilities ($17.44)
- Waste removal ($14.37)
- Grass mowing and landscape services ($15.48)
- Custodial ($12.69)
- Security ($14.43)
“We have had employees in the past, specifically some of our cleaners, who I would see … during the day at city hall and then you go to the grocery store and see them at the grocery store working overnight, cleaning as well, because that’s what they have to do to pay their bills,” said Smith, who has been pursuing a living wage policy since he was elected in 2016.
In one of the last votes of the current council’s term, the motion passed 13-4.
In favour: Councillors Bill Karsten, Lorelei Nicoll, Sam Austin, Tony Mancini, Waye Mason, Lindell Smith, Shawn Cleary, Russell Walker, Stephen Adams, Richard Zurawski, Lisa Blackburn, Tim Outhit and Mayor Mike Savage.
Against: Councillors Steve Streatch, David Hendsbee, Matt Whitman and Paul Russell.
While Coun. Steve Streatch said he “philosophically” supports a living wage initiative, he is concerned about how it will affect businesses.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody. I want to be able to buy into this with a clear conscience and I want clear budget implications,” Streatch said. “I don’t think we have that.”
Jane Pryor, manager of procurement at HRM, said it will cost $8 million to implement a living wage for all applicable contracts.
“And that is over a number of years because we have contractors that are for three years with two option years, so if those option years are taken, then they are paid at current rate, not the new rate,” Pryor said.
“It is only when they actually expire and are relisted and rendered that the living wage would then apply.”
An amendment was put forward to have council approve the policy without an attached effective date until budget but failed 9-8.
Another motion was then put forward to have the motion tabled or deferred indefinitely, but that failed 14-3.
Christine Saulnier, the Nova Scotia director for Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said having the original motion pass is “a huge step forward.”
Saulnier said workers earning a living wage has been proven to lower stress levels and improve their quality of work, as well as have an impact on other social issues.
“We continually have this race to the bottom and here’s a government taking the lead to not do that,” Saulnier said in an interview Thursday.
“The government needs to lead this. I think we forget that the municipality is an employer and here we have a public employer taking a leadership role. Our provincial government and other municipal governments could also step up as employers and lead.”
