Last week council voted to approve a pay raise for the municipality鈥檚 non-unionized employees.
Councilors debated for hours before finally giving their approval, and the motion still didn鈥檛 pass unanimously (Couns. Rico Damota and Brian Nesbitt both voted against it.)
The decision came after Strategic Steps Inc. concluded in a salary survey that the municipality鈥檚 non-unionized employees get paid an average of 14 per cent less than workers in similar positions in similar communities.
The raise鈥攚hich will happen over three years鈥攁ims to bring Jasper鈥檚 salaries in line with those people (although by the time the raises are complete, salaries will only be to the 2014 standard). The reality, however, is that there are very few communities that present circumstances as unique as Jasper.
Jasper鈥檚 non-unionized municipal employees work hard, and they deserve to be appropriately compensated for that. But it鈥檚 not fair to base that compensation on other communities, when a large portion of the workforce isn鈥檛 given that luxury.
Most people who come to Jasper to work do so for reduced pay. We move here because we love the mountains, the ski hill and the close connection to nature, and accept that part of that package means working for a little less than we should.
It鈥檚 the reality in Jasper, and that reality is difficult to capture in a salary survey.
It鈥檚 no secret that with relatively low wages and a very high cost of living, eeking out a living in Jasper can be incredibly difficult. It鈥檚 great that council is taking steps to take care of its employees, but it would sit a whole lot better if those actions were paired with steps to address low wages in the rest of the town.
In the committee of the whole meeting Aug. 19, Damota very diplomatically expressed a similar sentiment.
鈥淧ersonally I don鈥檛 think that what鈥檚 presented is entirely palatable overall, other than for the people who might be receiving the compensation. I just want to make sure that it鈥檚 fair to the whole community.鈥�
Changing the culture of low pay in Jasper would be no easy task, and it would take actions from more organizations than the municipal council to accomplish.
The municipal pay raise could sit as an isolated decision, or it could be the first step on the path to raising wages for everyone who works in Jasper.
We sincerely hope it鈥檚 the latter.
