Dave Hancock, Alberta's human services minister, has been widely quoted as saying that minimum wage earners are an important part of the provincial workforce - but the latest hike in minimum wage has left some of those same workers feeling a little shortchanged.As of September 1, the provincial minimum wage increased by 3.5 per cent. It now sits at $9.75 per hour, except for those workers who serve liquor, whose minimum wage remains at $9.05.This leaves some employees feeling vulnerable to a loophole where employers can label all servers as liquor servers to avoid paying them the higher wage in the two-tier system, says Nancy Furlong, secretary-treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour and Doug O'Halloran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 401 (UFCW401).O'Halloran and Furlong both cited a recent case as an example of what employees could face.The case, which was brought to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) by UFCW401 on behalf of workers at an Edmonton Swiss Chalet restaurant, centred around the alleged attempt to pay workers the liquor server's minimum wage of $9.05 per hour, despite those servers rarely, if ever, serving alcohol.“Employers are taking advantage of weak two-tired minimum wage laws to rip off the lowest-paid workers in Alberta,” says Furlong. “A case before the ALRB shows unscrupulous employers can classify minimum-wage earners as ‘liquor servers', even though they rarely if ever serve booze, in order to pay them the lower of the two minimum wages.”Amanada Metherall, who works at the Fireside Place in Carstairs, isn't affected by the wage increase since her current wage is already above the minimum. Nevertheless, she still doesn't think the treatment that liquor servers are getting is reasonable.“I don't think it's fair at all,” said Metherall. “If anything, I would think that those that serve alcohol should make slightly more than those that don't. In order to be allowed to serve alcohol we must acquire our Pro-Serve (Alberta Server Intervention Program, ASIP) card, which prepares us to handle any and all situations involving drinking. In any other career furthering your education earns you more money.”Aubrey Myran, another server in the Carstairs area, echoes Metherall's comments.“Because there is a law that liquor servers must obtain their ASIP licence in order to serve liquor,” said Myran. “I believe that if businesses are paying the lower end of the minimum wage, they should be responsible for the cost of this to their employees.”Myran says she believes some employers might abuse the system, but in the end it's up to the employee to be proactive.“I do think more businesses will do this to cut their costs, but we the individuals applying for positions like this have the right to accept or refuse the job, which may leave some businesses short-staffed,” she said.According to employment Alberta, about 26,000 provincial workers earn minimum wage and at $9.75, the province has the second-lowest minimum wage in Canada, after Saskatchewan.“Although I am a believer that one should tip according to the service received and not because of obligation, if a gratuity law was passed, it could compensate that wage difference as there are still quite a few people who don't tip,” she said.“I think $11 an hour would be a reasonable amount for minimum wage considering most food and beverage establishments do not offer full-time hours to their employees. The minimum wage should be higher for everyone due to the cost of living and due to the fact more and more people are using government support. Two-income households still manage to struggle with the cost of living, never mind single parents trying to raise their children.”
