BCDHA certified as a living wage employer for 2023

The BCDHA/CDA Alliance is once again being recognized as a living wage employer by Living Wage for Families BC.

This is the second year in a row that the organization has received the designation, which demonstrates our commitment to advocating for higher compensation and better benefits for our members.

“We are proud to be recognized as a living wage employer,” said Andrea Burton, the CEO of the BCDHA/CDA Alliance. “Having staff and contractors that feel secure in their ability to provide for their families is very important to our organization.”

Living Wage for Families BC defines a living wage as the amount necessary to cover the basic costs of a two-parent family raising two children in each municipality. Expenses include food, clothing, rental housing, childcare, transportation, and small savings to cover illness or emergencies.

Currently, the living wage in British Columbia ranges from $18.98 per hour in the Fraser Valley to as high as $25.87 per hour in Daajing Gidds in Haida Gwaii. In Metro Vancouver, where the BCDHA/CDA Alliance offices are located, the living wage in 2022 was $24.08.

Burton encouraged other health-care professional associations and aligned groups to become certified living wage employers.

“We aren’t doing our jobs if we do not hold ourselves to the same high standards of compensation we expect and advocate for our members,” Burton said. “Being a living wage employer demonstrates leadership and our ongoing commitment to social justice and equity across the province.”

• To find out more about Living Wage for Families BC and how you can get involved, click here.