TORONTO - For the first time in nine years the provincial government plans to increase the minimum wage. Currently, minimum wage in Ontario sits at $6.85 per hour. As of February 1, 2004 this rate will increase to $7.15 per hour with yearly increases until the wage settles at $8.00 per hour in 2007.

In addition to the general minimum wage there will also be increases in a variety of other categories. They include:

• an increase from $6.40 to $6.70 per hour for students under 18
• an increase from $5.95 to $6.20 per hour for liquor servers
• an increase from $34.25 to $35.75 per hour for hunting and fishing guides who work less than five consecutive hours
• an increase from $68.50 to $71.50 per hour for hunting and fishing guides who work more than five hours in a day

At the current minimum wage level a full-time employee is paid $14,248 annually. As of 2000, the provincial government estimates that there were 489,000 employees, or 7.9 per cent of Ontario’s working population, who earned between $6.85 and $8.00 per hour.

For more details visit the Ministry of Labour website at www.gov.on.ca/lab/.

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