The Alberta New Democratic government set in motion a path to achieve a minimum wage of 15$ per hour by October 2018. We would like to boast that Earth’s General Store already pays all of our staff 15$ an hour and that after a three-month probation period they will receive a ‘Living Wage’.

As of June 1st, 2018, only one person is on probation and the rest of the over 20 staff are being paid a minimum rate of 16.63$/hour.

Earth’s General Store would like to give a nod to those small businesses that already pay a Living wage to their staff. We specifically took inspiration from the Apothecary in Calgary.

Check out our earlier posts about Alberta Minimum Wage and how Earth’s General Store has always exceeded these rates. Now we are once again blazing the trail on staff wages by ensuring all of our staff receive a Living Wage.

The Living Wage in Alberta

Each community has different expenses. Some have lower food costs and others have exorbitant housing prices. There are several organizations that examine these costs and then puts a value

If you would like to see the Living Wages for your Alberta community then check out the Living Wage Canada page.

The Edmonton Living Wage

According to the Edmonton Social Planning Council, the living wage for a person in Edmonton is 17.69$/hour. We used this number to arrive at the minimum rate to pay all of our after a 3-month probation period.

The 17.69$/hour rate is inclusive of vacation pay, benefits, etc.

We offer a 6% holiday pay and therefore the living wage excluding the holiday pay is $16.63. We also pay 65% of the benefit plan if a person wishes to be enrolled but this has not been factored into this calculation since not all staff have enrolled in the benefit plan and therefore it would not be fair to include this and apply it to all staff.

Earth’s General Store is a small independent Edmonton business. The business employs 21 people. We do not have to make a profit to pay our shareholders and therefore we can (and always have) paid people a higher than normal wage. We are proud to pay people a better than the average wage for people employed in this industry and we are REALLY proud that we have now pay all of our full-time staff a living wage**.

“When we all do better, we all do better”

**At present, all staff are being paid a minimum of $16.63/hour except for a recent new hire and after they have completed their probation period they will be making this living wage rate.