The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce is urging the territorial Employment Standards Board not to consider any further increase to the base minimum wage of $10.30 per hour.

Philip Fitzgerald, the chair of the chamber's board of directors, made it clear today that the chamber is not advocating for a decrease to the wage rate.

"We're not against the minimum wage; what we're against is increases that aren't related to the economic cycle,” Fitzgerald said in an interview.

The chamber has made four recommendations to the board. The first is that the board should only allow the Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment to the minimum wage, noting that Yukon currently has the nation's second-highest minimum wage and that the rate is already indexed to the CPI.

Fitzgerald noted the business community has already dealt with a 42 per cent rate increase since 2005.

The chamber also recommends that if the board is considering another increase to the base rate that is conduct a full study into the possible impact on business in the territory.

The third recommendation is that the board "document and communicate” the reasons behind its decision to the chamber and any other relevant groups.

Finally, the fourth recommendation is that communication between the chamber and the Employment Standards Board be improved.

The board is conducting public consultation on the Yukon's current minimum wage until tomorrow.

Last spring, the hourly wage was raised from $9.27 to $10.30. At that time, the board announced it would conduct consultations to determine if any further increases were needed.

While Fitzgerald said the chamber is not in favour of the CPI-tied adjustments to the minimum wage, he said the organization is willing to accept it.

"If the government wants to go ahead and retain the CPI adjustment, then we'd ask that it's only adjusted once a year, to provide us more certainty,” he said.

The government may also want to consider tying its social assistance programs to the CPI, Fitzgerald suggested.

"We see the minimum wage as a safety net for those at the lower end of the economic scale, and we have no issue with it whatsoever.

"But what we're saying is if the government wants to tie it to the CPI, why don't they tie all their social assistance payments and all the other assistance that these people receive as well to the CPI to be consistent?

"It's an unnecessary burden to place this responsibility onto the private sector.”

The chamber has provided a form letter for business owners to send to the board highlighting difficulties they might face if minimum wage is increased again.

"As an employer, minimum wage policies have a significant effect on my ability to hire, train, and retain young workers,” the letter says.

"As the board also links minimum wage increases to inflation (measured by the Consumer Price Index), there will already be wage increases that I will have to manage.”

Furthermore, the letter says, quoting from a 2009 Fraser Institute report, "research shows that higher minimum wages have other negative effects, including fewer benefits and less training for workers.

"Higher minimum wages can also have the unfortunate effect of inducing high school students to drop out and search for employment.…”

The letter concludes: "I cannot absorb another increase to my payroll without having to take action to protect my business.”

To participate in the consultation, those interested can visit www.community.gov.yk.ca/es/minwage.html.