N.B. news: Group says wage increases fall short [Video]

The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity says the $29.7 million earmarked for wage increases for care workers across the province is welcomed, but still not enough.

“Pay equity evaluations that show these jobs should be getting paid anywhere from $25 to close to $30 an hour and that even with these investments directly into wages, we’re seeing that they’re still falling really short of equitable wages,” said Krysta Cowling, chair of the N.B. Coalition for Pay Equity.

The Coalition says the increases work out to $2.25 an hour for Human Services Counsellors (HSC) working in community residences, family support, attendant care and Employment and Support Programs and Services (ESSP), $2 an hour for workers in group homes and child-specific placements and a two per cent increase for Personal Support Workers (PSW) in home care, special care homes and specialized care bed home residents.

“There’s people leaving the sector when you can go work at Costco for …