What is the SFU Living Wage Campaign?
We think that that those who prepare our meals, who clean up
after us, who take of our children, who assist with research at our
university shouldn’t be living in poverty. They should be paid
enough to live on. They should be paid a Living Wage.
Our campaign is asking SFU to pass a Living Wage Policy that
would ensure that everyone working in SFU gets paid enough to
live on. A Living Wage Policy at SFU would demonstrate that the
University not only speaks of building an ethical society, but is
truly committed to acting on the promise of being an engaged
university.
Ultimately we think our University should be providing:
• Fair Trade working conditions in our University.
• An ethical work environment where quality education and
research thrives.
• Leadership and community engagement in providing practical
solutions to child poverty.
• Support to tomorrow’s students by ensuring their parents get
paid a Living Wage today.
Low Wage Poverty at SFU
Our campaign has researched the working conditions of lowwage workers at SFU. At a most basic level we tried to ascertain
whether these workers are being paid enough to live on. We
found that:
• The vast majority of workers surveyed (73%) earned less than
a living wage
• 57% of workers reported having to work extra unpaid overtime
hours, in some cases of up to 12 hours per week
• Only half of respondents reported getting any benefits as part
of their employment.
• 39% of respondents incurred out of pocket expenses as a
result of their employment
livingwagesfu.wordpress.com
The Living Wage SFU
Campaign is calling on SFU
to meet a higher standard for
both their direct[]staff and
major contractors– to reflect
what people need to support
their families based on the
actual costs of living in our
community. We need your
support to make this happen!
What is a Living Wage?
The living wage is calculated to enable
working families to pay their basic
expenses and lift them out of poverty.
The expenses included in the living wage
calculation include food, clothing and
footwear, shelter & transportation child
care, provincial Medical Services Plan
(MSP) premiums, non MSP-covered
health expenses, limited education
amounts for parents, and a contingency
amount to provide a two-week cushion in
the event of job loss, illness, etc. Based
on this methodology the Living Wage
rate for Metro Vancouver is $19.14/hr.
Non-mandatory benefits paid by an
employer are also factored into this
calculation.
Sign the Petition:
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Workers experiences include:
“I feel like I can’t provide for my family. I have to struggle to pay for food, housing, electricity and phone
bills. Sometimes I have to go to the food bank for food.” (Childcare Worker)
“I feel that the pay is not adequate enough to sustain a living. I literally live pay cheque to pay cheque and
budget my finances to only meet bare necessities.” (Food Service Worker)
“On numerous occasions […] my family was unable to pay the rent, buy groceries, pay our bills, student
loans etc.” (Research Assistant)
Why a Living Wage and Why at SFU?
SFU is a University that is committed to strengthening the wider
community through practical and creative initiatives. One of the core aims
of the University is to be a “public square” to which British Columbians
might look for dialogue on important issues of the day.
One of the most important issues in BC at the moment is our shamefully
high rate of child poverty. The increasing number of working poor in BC
has been a key contribution to the ongoing crisis of child poverty in BC:
For most of last decade, our province had the highest child poverty rate
in Canada. Low wages is one of the key reasons for child poverty in
BC - 43% of the poor children in BC – 41,300 children – live in families
with at least one adult working full-time, full-year.
Large universities like SFU need more than educators, administers and managers to function. Cleaners, security
staff, food service workers, childcare workers, and research assistants are also essential to ensuring that the
University maintains its high educational standards. We see these people every day. They prepare our meals. They
clean up after us. They take of our children. Yet we rarely think about their situations when they go home.
In BC there is increasing support for living wage policies as a way to address the issue of child and family poverty. In
2010 the City of New Westminster became the first municipality in Canada to pass a Living Wage Policy, while in
2012 School District 69 in Parksville / Qualicum recently became the first School Board in the country to do the
same.
Moreover, in Metro Vancouver, a growing number of leading corporate and non-profit employers have seen the
benefits of paying living wages. 28 organizations in Metro Vancouver, employing over 5,000 workers and covering
thousands more contracted service workers, have been certified as Living Wage Employers.
Universities outside Canada are also passing Living Wage Policies. 22 out of the top 25 universities in the U.S. (as
ranked by U.S. News and World Report 2011) including all eight Ivy League schools, M.I.T., and University of
California at Berkeley, have passed a Living Wage Policy; while thirteen education institutions in the U.K. have some
form of a Living Wage Policy in place.
The Living Wage SFU Campaign was formed in 2012 and aims to persuade SFU to become the first Living Wage University in
Canada. It is composed of the following organizations:
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3338; Graduate Student Society of SFU (GSS); The Living Wage for Families
Campaign; Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU); Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG); B.C Government
and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU); UNITE HERE! Local 40
Web: livingwagesfu.wordpress.com | Email: livingwagesfu@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/livingwagesfu | Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/nzaTr