Sympathy For The Janitor
The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a huddle reporter based in Halifax.
Oh, how some things never change. Even after the pandemic made us all appreciate the overworked, underpaid, front-line staff in our society, there are still people that look down on low-wage workers.
When news broke that Nova Scotia was going to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by October, most applauded it. Others said the increase wasn’t enough, since a living wage is more than $20 per hour in Halifax.
But others took time to devalue the work these employees do.
One commentator noted that, back in his day, he had a minimum-wage job that paid less than $4 per hour and he didn’t expect to be able to live off it. He then said that these underpaid workers should “get training.”
This person sounds mean-spirited but actually holds a view that is not that outdated–the idea that you shouldn’t expect to “get by” on minimum wage even if you have a full-time job. The idea is that it’s somehow your fault if you’re an adult making minimum wage: you should be more educated, or more qualified.
A minimum-wage job, in some people’s minds, is a “starter” job — sort of like a bike with training wheels, you shouldn’t expect to have the full cycling experience.
But ask anyone with a long resume what their hardest jobs were and there is a good chance they will tell you about a job that paid minimum wage or similar.
The hardest job I ever had was my very first. I was 16 years old and took a summer job as a counsellor at a summer recreation program. There were only three teenagers looking after 30 rowdy, hyper children. For our stress and exhaustion we were paid $5.75 per hour. Yes, it was 20 years ago, but even back then I hated how small my paycheque was.
As an adult, the hardest job I ever had was janitorial: that was in 2019. Let me tell you something, if you work in a building that is constantly clean and tidy, give thanks to your janitor. Chances are they are breaking their backs to do a good job on a tight schedule.
At my last janitorial job, I had to call it quits because it was so hard on my back. And the building owner demanded that so many rooms and duties get done in an eight-hour shift I was unable to even take a quick break to rest my sore muscles.
I was amazed at my coworkers who could somehow get everything done in time. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore when I came home from a shift and all I could do was lay down flat on my bed until my back recovered.
So, despite my level of education and experience, here was a low-wage job I couldn’t do. If every janitor in our fair city decided to quit for better pay, we would suddenly start appreciating the job they do more.
Yet, I know that there are people out there who think these folks are not deserving of $15 per hour or more.
Thanks in part to those early days in the pandemic, these old views are dying out and there is certainly a better understanding of how valuable these jobs are to keep our society functioning.
But pre-pandemic there was plenty of evidence that those in power felt little pressure to improve the lives of low-wage workers. While researching this column, I was reminded of the awful governance Newfoundland and Labrador had a decade ago.
Those were the dark years, where everyone and everything was focused on the boondoggle mega-dam known as Muskrat Falls and government was hell-bent on giving power and riches to Nalcor — the failed crown corporation. Between 2010-2014, that government chose not to raise the minimum wage — letting it stagnate at a measly $10.
I was covering the news during this time period and I don’t recall any stink being made about the lack of movement on minimum wage increases.
Nova Scotia has consistently raised the minimum wage over the last number of years, but in very small increments. Just looking at the years leading up to the pandemic, Nova Scotia raised the wage five times between 2015 and 2019. But, during those five years, it only amounted to a $0.95 increase per hour. I hope minimum wage workers didn’t spend it all in one place.
New Brunswick had a similar approach. In the same time frame, the province raised the rate four times for a total increase of $0.85.
For too long, minimum wage increases served as window dressing — making it look like governments were doing something to help those at the bottom of the economic ladder. But these paltry increases show that there was never any interest in dramatically making a financial difference.
But now, with everything that has changed during the pandemic, and inflation making everyone’s lives miserable, there is finally real pressure on every province to ensure livable wages. We are far away yet from making that happen, but $15 per hour is a better starting point.
I’m not without sympathy for smaller businesses that will have to pay for these increases that are coming more quickly than before, and at a time when there is pressure to pay back CEBA loans, on top of cost increases and labour shortages.
But the committee that is making recommendations on Nova Scotia’s minimum wage has made a great suggestion to take minimum wage increases away from the mere whims of the politics of the day.
The review committee suggested that there be a predictable model that will increase the minimum wage automatically, based on economic conditions. Not only would this be beneficial to workers, but it would allow businesses to adjust their budgets.
If the past few years proved anything, we can’t go back to changing the minimum wage whenever governments felt like it. As Newfoundland showed a decade ago, that could lead to major droughts in increases. It has also proven that we need to have more respect for those making lower wages. Our society can’t function without their skills.