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(File photo) The minimum wage increase will be the second in the province's planned increases.
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The province's minimum wage is set to increase this weekend, though a Saskatchewan labour organization says that's not enough.

On October 1st, the minimum wage will increase to $14 an hour, up from $13 which was set on the same date last year.

While that does hit a goal, it's one that's long outdated, says Lori Johb, President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour.

"It's a small step, but it's not nearly enough. I think that our position has been for some time that we needed a rapid increase to $15.00 an hour and that was a while ago. Now we know the $15.00 an hour is not even close to being a living wage."

The provincial government is planning to set the minimum wage to $15 an hour on October 1, 2024.

Johb says it's been a common complaint from workers who have taken up additional jobs.

"Everybody you talked to, it's across the board. In order to make ends meet, people are working more than one job, if they have the opportunity to work full time because many people don't even have that opportunity. They're working two or three jobs. So working a full-time job and living in poverty is not cutting it and we need to do better."

The SFL is looking for an expansion of that number which was informed by a recent study.

"The (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) has just released a report that sets the living wage in two of the large cities in Saskatchewan, it's almost $19 an hour in Saskatoon, and it's almost $18 an hour in Regina, so it's not even close. $14 an hour is not even close."

Johb says she hopes to see an expansion past just the $15 mark in the future.

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