Make mine minimum wage

For most unions are no longer considered sexy.

Yes, I have said the sacrilegious, but I speak the truth -- unions have fallen out of favour.

But the rational behind the union -- a collective body that could demand fair treatment and fair wages -- is probably more applicable today than ten years ago.

The fact is the average minimum wage in Canada is paltry in comparison to the cost of living. The fact that minimum wage has barely risen over the last decade does not bode well for the working poor -- the people that benefit most from organized labour initiatives.

In Ontario, alone, the minimum wage rate has risen ONLY $0.30 in the last decade. That's right, that's $0.30 in ten years, compared with the rate of inflation which rose 1.7% between 2003 and 2004, alone!!

While unions have garnered negative press since their inception there are still valid and viable reasons why organized labour is a necessity in our (oxymoronic) free-market economy.

And now, with the push towards ethical living and socially responsible corporate policy, it is time to re-examine the role of unions in the skilled and unskilled labour that fuels our nation.

For an example on corporate social responsibility and its exclusion of unions go to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20060807/cm_thenation/15108956
For more information on the rise of minimum wages in Canada go to:
http://www110.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca
(then search minimum wage)
For more information on current minimum wages in Canada look below:
Minimum Wage in Canada
Updated: 07/23/06
Province General Wage
Alberta $7.00
BC $8.00
Manitoba $7.60
New Brunswick $6.70
Newfoundland $6.75
NWT $8.25
Nova Scotia $7.15
Nunavut $8.50
Ontario $7.75
PEI $7.15
Quebec $7.75
Saskatchewan $7.55
Yukon $8.25