The City of Kingston reports its recent certification as a Living Wage Employer will help encourage its contractors, partners and community organizations and businesses to also pay a living wage.
It was last month that the Ontario Living Wage Network officially certified the City as a Living Wage Employer at the supporter level and the City is now considering options for including living wage criteria in its procurement process.
“Every full-time worker in Kingston should be able to live off their earnings” said Mayor Bryan Paterson. “Our full-time employees have earned a living wage for some time, but we pursued certification so that we could demonstrate our leadership as a significant employer locally while also calling attention to this vital quality-of-life measure.”
The living wage is the hourly rate a household must earn to meet its basic needs. City Council agreed to pursue a living wage policy in April 2019 with that wage for Kingston determined to be $17.57 per hour in November.
