Heather: Hello and welcome to the Zed News YYC podcast. We are young journalists from the Alexandra Writers Centre passionate about creating balanced and engaging news that is relevant to us. We aim to keep the public informed, highlight solutions, keep the powerful in check, and give voice to those who don’t always get heard. Our reporters here today are Kate, Silvana, Kristina, Lucas, and I’m your host, Heather. Today’s issue is about wage gaps for teens. Kate is here to explain when teens started to get paid less minimum wage. Kate, could you please tell us the answer?
Kate: So it all started in 2019, and under these new rules, the teens minimum wage would lower to 13$ per hour, 2$ less than their adult co-workers. This new rule would apply to people between the ages of 13-17. The UCP said that they did this to spur more hiring in that age group. Premier Jason Kenney also said that increasing the minimum wage in the middle of an economic downturn would only hurt small businesses and make finding work for youth more difficult. “This is still a very generous wage - $13 an hour is a lot more than $0” said Kenney in an interview. This is still in place and teens sare still getting paid 13$, $2 less than their adult co-workers. Thanks, Kate, for the information. Now Silvana will tell us if Alberta's the only place that does this? Actually, no. Out of all 13 provinces and territories I researched, there is only one other province that does this. Ontario. Ontario and Alberta both have a minimum wage of 15$. However, unlike Alberta, with its 2$ teen wage gap difference, Ontario has a 90 cent teen wage gap difference. However, 14.10$ an hour technically is a large difference from 13$ an hour. Out of all the Provinces and territories in Canada, Alberta has the largest difference for teen wage gap. So much do teens get paid in the other provinces where they get paid the same as adults? The lowest minimum wage is in New Brunswick at 11.75$ while Nunavut is at 16$ an hour. All the other provinces and territories range in between those 2 numbers. Kristina, can you tell us why Alberta put in place the teen minimum wage and did it create more jobs? Kristina: Well, when the new minimum wage for teens was first introduced in June of 2019, the UCP government introduced it as a means of creating jobs for the province’s young workers while also easing the pressure on struggling businesses. Despite the government’s claims that it will help promote jobs within the youth’s ranks, there were still various business owners and employers that questioned the new wage on grounds of fairness, not seeing how the lower minimum wage could help businesses. This opposition can actually be observed in Alberta15, an online pledge for businesses that want to continue on paying a living wage of $15. Now, the question of if the teen minimum wage actually succeeded in creating more jobs is a different matter. Looking at statistics from before the minimum wage was first implemented to the end of 2020, we can observe a decrease from a 35-40% teen employment rate from 2018-2019 to a 19-37% employment rate from 2020-2021, according to Statistics Canada. While other factors like the effects of the pandemic in mid-2020 could have contributed to the fluctuation of the rate in that specific year, comparing the highest rates of both years still signifies a drop from a 40% teen employment rate to 37%. Thanks for the helpful statistics, Kristina. Finally, Lucas, If teens can’t make more money, what else can they look for in a job? Lucas: Well, when it comes to finding jobs, most youth will base their decisions on how much money they will make, but there are other aspects to look for when considering a job. One important thing that one could look for would be a job with a union. Unions help employees build better work environments, get better wages, and get representation if or when something goes wrong. Another thing to look for is the experience one could gain from a job. Even if you aren’t making a lot of money, the experience a job can give you may be extremely important in the future of your career. If the position you want is in an industry you hope to one day have a full-time part in, it can be very beneficial to form connections with others in that industry and get your foot in the door sooner rather than later. Even if a larger paycheck ends up a casualty with your taking of this job, the future prospects it may provide must not be overlooked. And finally, if more money isn’t as much a concern, then try to just find a job you like. Find an environment where you can have fun or do what you like to do, as that can contribute to a healthier and more pleasant work environment. Heather: Thank you for the wonderful tips. So if any teens are listening to this podcast, I hope you keep this information in mind as you search for a job. I hope all of our listeners learned something too about the teen wage gap. You have been listening to the Zed News YYC podcast. This episode is produced by Kate, Silvana, Kristina, and Lucas. I’m your host Heather at the Alexandra Writers Centre in Calgary. For more Zed News Journalism, visit our website www.zednewsyyc.weebly.com.
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