The Okanagan business community is largely supportive of the minimum wage increase initiative adopted by the provincial government.

But the need for advance notice of wage increases along with reduced taxation and service costs to balance against increased labour costs are also being encouraged.

91裸聊视频淏usinesses want predictability so that their annual budgets and plans don91裸聊视频檛 take an unanticipated hit,91裸聊视频� said Tom Dyas, president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce in a news release this week.

91裸聊视频淭he bottom line for business is taking the politics out of minimum wage increases.

91裸聊视频淲e are strong supporters of businesses as engines of employment. Reducing the small business tax in last week91裸聊视频檚 provincial budget from 2.5 to two per cent was a positive note.

91裸聊视频淭his takes money the business was paying in tax, and returns it to the business owner to spend as needed.91裸聊视频�

Also helping businesses in the budget were proposals to remove the PST on electricity and the rollback in MSP premiums paid by employers on behalf of their workforce, Dyas noted.

The minimum wage in B.C. will rise by 50 cents to $11.35 an hour.

These wage changes will come into effect in mid-September of this year.

The province says the upgraded minimum wage is based on a 20-cent increase based on B.C.91裸聊视频檚 2016 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the variation in prices paid by typical consumers for retail goods and other items, plus an additional 30 cents.

The minimum wage had most recently been raised to $10.85 in September, 2016.

Dyas said the Kelowna Chamber supports future increases to the minimum wage tied to the CPI.

Michael Magnusson, president of the Penticton Chamber of Commerce, echoed Dyas91裸聊视频� sentiments about predictability in minimum wage increases.

91裸聊视频淐ertainly all employers and business owners feel their workers deserve a fair living wage but we don91裸聊视频檛 want to see little or no notice given before a wage rollout is put in place,91裸聊视频� said Magnusson.

91裸聊视频淭he first one that saw an increase from $10.40 to $10.85 came with little notice, and our concern is that we have to budget for a year ahead looking at cash projections and cost of labour.

91裸聊视频淚f you are a business operating on a slim margin of profit, any sort of increase is going to affect your bottom line so that has to be accounted for.91裸聊视频�

Magnusson said increasing labour costs will hurt some small businesses on those tight operating margins, which might force the owner-operators to work more hours to reduce employee costs.

He believes the ultimate solution to minimum wage concerns is investment in education to allow workers to develop job skills that will qualify them for jobs that pay higher wages.

91裸聊视频淲ith minimum wages, you also have to consider that young people in those jobs are often still living at home. For a 16-year-old working a minimum wage job, it91裸聊视频檚 all gravy as that wage isn91裸聊视频檛 about supporting themselves but rather their lifestyle at that moment in their lives,91裸聊视频� Magnusson said.

Elfriede Schmoll, co-chair of the Westside Board of Trade, said their members knew this was coming, and the blow has been softened a little by what have been two strong economic years and the anticipation of a third in 2017.

91裸聊视频淭ourism has been very strong the last two years so everyone benefits from that in one way or another in our area,91裸聊视频� Schmoll said.

91裸聊视频淏ut we have many small businesses here so any increase in operating costs will have to be absorbed somewhere. Some might complain about it but that91裸聊视频檚 how it91裸聊视频檚 going to be so we just move on.91裸聊视频�

Ian Tostenson, president/CEO of the B.C.Restaurant and Food Services Association, says adjusting the minimum wage from his industry91裸聊视频檚 perspective is a delicate balancing act.

91裸聊视频淵ou want to be in the right spot so that you aren91裸聊视频檛 getting too much admiration about it from either side of the argument,91裸聊视频� Tostenson said.

He said the provincial NDP proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15/hr would be 91裸聊视频渂rutal91裸聊视频� on the restaurant business if sales can91裸聊视频檛 be increased to off-set the added labour cost. The Kelowna Chamber is also against an absolute increase to $15, regardless of how much notice is given.

Tostenson said another aspect of the debate is businesses increasing their reliance on technology where possible to reduce the need for manual labour.

Tostenson said he is also keeping an eye on the impact felt in Seattle91裸聊视频檚 business community as the Washington city91裸聊视频檚 ordinance to reach the $15 minimum wage.

Starting as of April 1, 2015, Seattle businesses with fewer than 500 employees will have to reach the $15 an hour wage mark in seven years, by 2021, while employers with 500 or more employees must reach that level in three years.

The University of Washington is carrying out a study over that period to analyze the impact of the minimum wage change in Seattle.

The first year response from 567 randomly selected Seattle businesses reported that 62 per cent said they expected to raise prices for goods and services to accommodate the higher labour costs.

While many responders hoped the higher wages would improve worker morale and boost job application interest, few felt it would improve individual employee productivity.

91裸聊视频淥ur preliminary analysis of grocery, retail and rent prices has found little or no evidence of price increases in Seattle relative to the surrounding area,91裸聊视频� stated the report.