“Another increase in the minimum wage, the twelfth in 11 years, hits an industry, which is already operating on tight margins,” said Dwayne Marling, the CRFA’s Manitoba-Saskatchewan vice-president. “In Manitoba, not only are margins tight, we have the lowest per capita foodservice sales in the country. Real sales in the province’s restaurants were flat in 2010, compared to an increase of 1.4 per cent nationally.”
According to Labour Minister Jennifer Howard, Manitoba has one of the strongest labour markets in the country and one of the lowest unemployment rates. “Revenues continue to rise in most industries, including restaurant and retail, where many employees earn a minimum wage,” she is quoted as saying in the Winnipeg Free Press.
Last year’s 50-cent minimum wage hike hit Manitoba’s restaurant operators with an estimated $16 million — or $7,000 per restaurant — in increased labour costs. This year’s increase is expected to have a similar impact.
