Minimum wage to increase to $12.95 on April 1, 2021
January 28, 2021
Minimum wage in Nova Scotia will increase to $12.95 on April 1, 2021.
This is a $0.40 increase consisting of a special increase of $0.30 plus a $0.10 increase representing the national change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
This is the last of the three years of special minimum wage increases (2019-2021) announced by the provincial government in 2018. The government has defended the three years of significant increases in part by stating that the increases would be predictable and businesses would have plenty of time to plan and adjust. However, the government went back on its promise in 2020 by adding an additional, last minute increase to the already significant increase in last year’s base wage. The government’s action, combined with the impact of COVID-19, led RCC to call on the government to forego the scheduled special increase for 2021 and only adjust the base wage by CPI for 2021. RCC was unable to convince the government to make this decision. The government has committed to return to using its minimum wage formula to make future minimum wage adjustments.
The government’s press release can be found here.
