Prosperity Roundtable officials want employers to know how much it costs to survive in Chatham-Kent, so they can provide livable wages to their workers.
Prosperity Roundtable Project Coordinator Kate doForno and Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope raise prosperity flag, October 17, 2016 (Photo by Jake Kislinsky)
That's why they're inviting community leaders to a discussion on living costs Tuesday night.
Prosperity Roundtable Project Coordinator Kate doForno says employers should base their wages off what it costs to live in the community.
"The local living wage number is an important piece of community data that businesses and recruiters can understand, to make sure they know what it costs to help people not live a meager existence," says doForno.
She says 850,000 Canadians require food banks every month, adding one in six of those people is employed.
"If we don't address the issue of decent work, that people deserve to go to their job each day knowing they're making enough money that they don't have to live in poverty, we're not doing our community a service," says doForno
The discussion will take place at Smitty's Restaurant on Grand Ave. W in Chatham, starting at 7pm.