Alberta's restaurant industry has launched a public relations campaign called "Now is Not the Time" in an effort to convince the provincial government to hold off on its promised minimum wage hike.

The lobby group Restaurants Canada said increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018, as the NDP promised to do in their 2015 election campaign, would be a blow to its Alberta members who are already struggling in the midst of the economic downturn. The government already raised the minimum wage from $10.20 an hour to $11.20 an hour in October.launch

"A 50 per cent increase in wages over just three years would be difficult to absorb at any time. But during a recession, our members have said such an increase would lead to a reduction in jobs, hours and wages for the very people the wage hike is intended to help," said Restaurants Canada's vice-president for Western Canada, Mark von Schellwitz.

The restaurant industry is recommending not only that the government postpone minimum wage increases until the economy improves, but is also asking that the liquor server wage be retained. Alberta currently allows for a lower minimum wage ($10.20 an hour) for liquor servers, but the NDP has pledged to eliminate that disparity in October 2016.

The restaurant group is also asking for the introduction of a youth wage, arguing a $15 an hour minimum wage will only serve to kill jobs and rob young people and first-time job seekers of opportunities for work.

The Restaurants Canada campaign was immediately criticized Thursday by the Alberta Federation of Labour, which said regardless of the province and regardless of the economic situation, industry groups never believe minimum wage workers deserve a raise.

AFL president Gil McGowan said the "Now is Not the Time" campaign continues to perpetuate the myth that the majority of minimum wage earners are teenagers in their first job, yet in Alberta over half are over the age of 25, almost two thirds of them are women and nearly three-quarters of minimum wage earners are in permanent jobs — not temporary, summer or internship placements.

“We know that minimum wage earners in Alberta are struggling to make ends meet.” said McGowan, “Too many parents are making poverty level wages, even though they are working hard every day to provide for their families.”

The AFL says reliance on Alberta’s food banks has increased 82.8 per cent since 2008, and one-third of households using food banks are the working poor.

“This discussion about the minimum wage isn’t about young people getting job experience,” said McGowan in a release. “It’s about ensuring that those who work full time in Alberta are actually able to feed their families and still afford to pay the bills every month.”

The Alberta government begins formal consultations on the minimum wage issue June 6.

astephenson@postmedia.com

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