BFresh.Media is excited to announce that we received our certification as a Living Wage Employer from the Ontario Living Wage Network.
What is the Ontario Living Wage Network?
The Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) is a network of employers, employees, non-profits, researchers, and proponents of decent wages and standards for all Ontario workers. Every 2 years the organization calculates the living wage rate in 27 regions across Ontario.
What Is A Living Wage?
A living wage is different from the minimum wage. The minimum wage is legislated as the minimum amount an employer can legally pay an employee in the province. As of January 1st, 2022 Ontario’s minimum wage was raised to $15/hr
A living wage is calculated by looking at the real expenses workers must cover while also enjoying modest participation in their civic and cultural community. It is the hourly wage that employers can pay to be sure that their employees are able to make ends meet.
In 2021, Simcoe County’s living wage was calculated to be $19.05 which is the highest outside of the GTA.
Why Get Living Wage Certified?
Becoming certified with the OLWN is a commitment to pay all of our staff including full-time, part-time, and contract employees a living wage or higher. When rates are recalculated, certified organizations have a period of 6 months to ensure that all wages meet the new rate in their area.
While there are other living wage employers who operate in and around Collingwood I didn’t expect that we would be the first company on the Ontario Living Wage Network’s map directory.
Our company is still quite small. We have only 3 full-time and 4 Part time staff members (meet some of our employees on our About page). However, I wanted to take this step in order to make that commitment to both current and future employees. I feel like this is one of the easiest ways to have a direct and positive impact on the community, by investing in our people and their quality of life. I would also love to see other local companies join us in making this commitment by getting certified as well.
Other Living wage employers operating in our area include the likes of Village Media (collingwoodtoday.ca), and Free Spirit Forest School. Across the province, the growing list of employers include a wide range of businesses, industries, and even entire cities and municipalities. In 2020 for example, the city of Kingston officially became Living Wage Certified.
What’s Next For BFresh.Media?
While our contract with the Town of Collingwood to deliver Digital Service Squad services is set to end early 2022, our team is working hard to launch a new digital marketing support company called GET Digital Support (https://getdigitalsupport.ca) to continue helping small and medium sized businesses and organizations all across Canada.
I also hope to continue promoting the Living Wage in our community and beyond as a way to strengthen individual companies and the broader community, by raising the quality of life for all employees in Ontario.
