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New report calls on SFU to address child and family poverty of workers on campus.

(Vancouver, BC)

A new campaign is challenging Simon Fraser University (SFU) to become the first Living Wage University in Canada. This call is based on the findings of a research report, entitled ‘Simon Fraser University: becoming the First Living Wage University in Canada’ that is due to be released on February 20th. The report focuses on the extent and impact of low wage poverty among SFU’s contracted workers (food service, cleaning, janitorial, childcare and research assistants.)  The research revealed that:

• The vast majority of workers surveyed (73%) earned less than a living wage, that is a wage that would enable them to cover their families’ basic expenses

• 57% of workers reported having to work unpaid overtime hours, in some cases up to 12 hours per week

• Only half of respondents reported getting any benefits as part of their employment

The report documents workers having to live paycheck to paycheck, working multiple jobs, depending on food banks, and suffering extreme mental and physical stress. It also documents the struggles these families face in bringing up their children in a healthy and supportive environment. A typical response was “I feel like I can’t provide for my family. I have to struggle to pay for food, housing, electricity and phone bills. Sometimes I have to go to the food bank for food.”

These findings shed light on one of the main causes of child poverty in our province - low pay. For most of the last decade, our province has had the highest child poverty rate in Canada. Low wages is one of the key reasons for child poverty in BC - 43% of the poor children in BC or 41,300 children – live in families with at least one adult working full-time, full-year.

In response to these finding the ‘SFU Living Wage Campaign’ proposes that the University should guarantee that all workers are paid aliving wage by inserting a legally-binding living wage clause in all future service contracts. The living wage rate for the Lower Mainland is currently calculated at $19.14/hr.

So far 22 out of the top 25 universities in the U.S. (as ranked by U.S. News and World Report 2011) including all eight Ivy League schools, M.I.T., and the University of California at Berkeley, have passed a Living Wage Policy. Thirteen educational institutions in the U.K. have some form of a Living Wage Policy in place. Moreover, in Metro Vancouver, a growing number of leading corporate and non-profit employers have seen the benefits of paying living wages. Over 30 organizations in Metro Vancouver, employing over 6,000 workers and covering thousands more contracted service workers, have been certified as Living Wage Employers.

Research report author Michael McCarthy Flynn stated that “Adopting a ‘Living Wage Policy’ at SFU is an opportunity for the University to become a leader of social change. SFU has recently extended its ethical framework to include workers in the developing world by becoming a Fair Trade Campus. We call on SFU to extend this ethical framework to ensure that all workers at all SFU campuses receive a living wage as well.’”

The SFU Living Wage Campaign has written to various stakeholders at SFU with the aim of fostering serious dialogue within the SFU community about how the university can adopt a Living Wage policy.

To find our more about the SFU Living Wage Campaign go to www.livingwagesfu.wordpress.com