Photo: CTV
Fruit pickers have seen their minimum piece rate wages grow at a slower pace than the standard minimum wage, which one picker says is unfair to the seasonal workers.
One picker, who has asked to remain anonymous for employment reasons, says he’s disappointed by the smaller increases after doing the seasonal work for more than 20 years.
He said increasing food prices have been disproportionate to pickers’ wages over time. Statistics Canada data shows the price of fresh fruit overall has gone up by 12.3 per cent between 2007 and 2012 alone.
“If they make another step with the price of apples or even cherries or anything … I don’t want them to put 50 cents and claim that, ‘We raised it,'” the fruit picker said. “Somebody has got to come up with a better idea to raise the bucks … this is not a job at $10 bucks an hour, and I go one buck up.”
The minimum piece rate for apples grew from $13.16 per bin in 1996 to $18.06 this year according to data from the B.C. labour ministry, an increase of about 37 per cent. On the other hand, the hourly minimum wage has gone up from $7 per hour to $10.85 per hour in that same time span, an increase of 55 per cent. The piece rate for cherries also saw an increase of 37 per cent in that time, from $0.173 per pound to $0.237.
The ministry adds that while the minimum wage for fruit pickers usually goes up alongside the standard minimum, it doesn’t always. Last year’s hike to both the general minimum wage and that of the piece rates went up 3.8 per cent, and this coming September will see another hike for both.
B.C. Fruit Growers Association general manager Glen Lucas says on average fruit pickers make over the hourly minimum wage, and that if a picker doesn’t meet the hourly minimum, then the grower has to pay out to make up the difference.
“Nobody in the industry is earning less than minimum wage; there is the potential to earn more than minimum wage,” Lucas said. “So to say that there has not been as many increases in the piece rate as minimum wage is correct, but piece rate has always been much higher than minimum wage.”
He adds that depending on how many fruit pickers there are out looking for work, growers will often pay higher than the piece rate.
“It depends on the supply and demand for labour, but it has been challenging to get adequate labour supply, for sure,” he said, adding that the minimum piece rates are about on par with, and tend to go up at the same time, as competing markets.
With demands for a $15 per hour minimum wage, Lucas says the BCFGA has no issue with the minimum wage moving to a living wage, but he would like to see that change more gradually.
“Regular fare increases in minimum wage, I don’t think there’s any employer that’s having an issue with that,” he said. “It seems like a much more rational way of protecting the employees … wage levels and making sure it matches with cost of living. And it also protects employers from having huge increases every four or five years.”
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