Are you expecting a wage freeze this year?

a raise/ i wish/ 10.25 an hr a terrible existance /after paying rent ,phone, grocerys and basic needs bus fare cant afford a car let alone insurance/ cant even eat healthy foods really because there expensive. my healh has gone south because of low wage and a high cost of living /Forget the dentist . everyday a struggle

those who have professional jobs ie: doctors, trademen, nurses,etc that are locked into budget constraints via limited public resourses and those unionized. Face collective economic contraints and hence individual income stabilization. Those or should I say the bulk of the working class are not and so face lower overall income levels and are at the whim of companies demands. The higher level income earners face limited income increases while the bulk of the rest of us face economic consquences of lower income levels. The higher income earners are not the ones who drive the overall economy it is the working poor.I have not had a pay increase in 8 years working for the same company Do not expect me to feel sorry for the high income earners they at least get a raise..not me..

The hated HST is the motivator for any Liberal provincial ran government. When they introduced this tax, i.e. in Ont, sporting events, theatre and movie tickets are declining instead of the basic needs, such as utilities is no wonder why the "blue collar" workers are heading south for groceries, gas, and whatever is cheaper, as long as the dollar is at par, which will stay between 93-97 cent mark, hopefully. Many articles in the paper or on-line explained it very clear.
Furthermore, when the HST was introduced many years back to create jobs has failed and due to the gov'ts non fiscal restraints and their personal pay raises while freezing worker wages/ layoffs will only create more strikes, especially with foreign owned companies in Canada. For example, just look at Vale/Inco, WalMart, the steel company in Hamilton. Time for Canada to buy thse companies back.
Also, ignoring petitions has only made distrust for the Liberals in BC and Ont, therefore, it is now in our hands to vote the Liberals out in the next election. Harper is not the problem, as he has kept our banking and economy stable for now, as some might disagree. The Conservatives are against the HST for some areas for now because of this recent downturn. They are best gov't to be in power for the next few years, not the alternative parties who are trying to fix their internal issues, monetary problems and flip-flopping ideas.
Moreover, the federal gov't should introduce a bill this year for credit card companies to limit rate they charge to 8% and lower it to 6% next year, so people can pay down or get get out of debt.

don t know why nurses are getting a 5 percent wage increase for three years straight....its goood that they dont get a raise increase this contract....excpecially if u need a nurse....there either on break or saying theylll be there in 15 20 mins...and thats after watching them stand at the nurses station chit chatting....no raise this year...but a productivity raise next year....just another way os saying a raise is coming....

my nana was a nurse at the old general hosispital in calgary....and she even agrees that nurses are over paid...and stilll wanting more....

the goverment should freeze their wages plus anyones wage in the goverment or health sectors and put the moneys to better use...ie taking care of thehomeless problems...the unemployment problems...and many more

This is madness. Ppl have to work their asses off thinking that they will get a raise in a few months or year and now they wanted to freeze it. It's very hard for low income families with kids. I find that in this country it's all about bills, bills and more bills. Everything going up but not wages.

I agree with Ed, I think that they should do something about the credit card companies, to lower interest rate.

not so long ago,Banks were borrowing money @ 0.25 % (0.50 %now) from BOC. and lending it to us @ 19.9 % via VISA after charging the business end another 3% more.That was 91.6 times more,today only 45.8 times ,of course we can get airmiles(?)and if we are late in payment we can pay a little bit more.Mortgages ...only 20 X more.
Outrageous ! Wonder why the banks make so much money.Why not limit C Cards to 5% for the convenience.Let them fix it so that they don't make us pay for fraud,by having that excuse any more.And when you catch these thieves (who seem to come from other countries) put them away forever on bread and water,no one will be tempted to fill their shoes.

I'm a union worker.. not goverment our contract was zero wage increase for 2 years then 2 % and 2% with reduced benifents... thank god I am paying tons of taxes!

I really do not know where the Province of Ontario is heading. Taxes on top of tax and it never ends. Meanwhile, the public sector keeping getting bigger in terms of workers. I seriously think that if the Ontario government does not put a hiring and salary freeze, then we may certainly be heading in the direction of Greece. Now the HST is in full force in Ontario. The cost of living keeps going up, while salaries stay the same or decrease. Governments have to better manage peoples taxes and politicians have to reduce their salaries as well. This is seriously getting ridiculous.

Lots of whining in Canada. I agree that some people have legitimat complaints.The value of labour is often a very subjective jugdement.In general though,if you haven't done anything to upgrade your skills,it's a bit much to expect a raise.
The reason I am postiing though,is mainly to challenge the post by "paul". The notion that anyone with more than half an ounce of budgeting smarts would finance anything on a "visa" card is absurd, to say the least,If you're paying 19%,it's you who needs to give your head a shake.If you want to pay 5% interest on the money you borrow,go to the bank and take out a loan.If you don't quailfy for a loan,perhaps you should reconsider whether or not you should borrow any more money at all.And,for what it's worth,the difference between BOC rates and credit card rates is not equal to bank profits.Credit cards are the highest risk loans.They are funds loaned to people who often don't pay them back.They are also subject to extremely high rates of fraud.There is plenty of money available at far less than 10%.You just have to qualify for the loan.And really,who wants to lend cheap money to people who don't qualify? Certainly not me.And I hope not the bank I deal with.
Still crying the blues?? Consider what it would be like if we returned to the days of the Chretien buck.You know the one,,63 cents US.If we go there,you may have many more dollars,but they will by far less.The CAN$ alone has increased your purchaing power immensely.Then,when we factor in the income tax cuts,and the cuts in the GST,even when the hated HST comes around,we are still money ahead.Paul should know that it is possible to limit credit card rates.BUT,as they do that,you must also know that fewer people will qualify for a credit card,AND for those who do qualify,their credit card limits will be much lower.Those are what we call t "unintended consequences". If you are a high risk borrower,you have to pay the premium rates.If not,use your head and manage your banking a little wiser.That is your "right". Just as it is a "right" for a lender not to lend you money if the lender is uncertain about your ability to pay it back.
It's all about productivity and competetiveness. If we can't do both,ther are no jobs and no one has money.Just as a person with few skills,and no inclination to upgrade his/her education has to know there is a life time of low income ahead.So quit whing about how much skilled people work.Go out,learn how to do their jobs,and make that income for yourself.Certainly they are under no obligation to send you a portion of their income.And remember this,on the day that labourers earn the same as nurses,people who may have become nurses will thenopt for jobs as labourers.There is no schooling required,and a whole lot less responsibility.Then where will lower skilled people go.I know they can't do the nurses jobs.But the nurses can probably do theirs. Hmmmm.

a wage freeze will arrive for many if not everyone, we are hitting a deflationary period and it will effect everything across the board.

Raise, Wage freeze, Good luck. Our company just reduced wages by about 15% as of June 9th. That's all the raises I've gotten in the last 9 years. But hey at least I'm working for now any way. Best of luck to you just to keep your jobs and not get a raise. Unless of course, you work for the Government

Yes Doug, you said it perfectly! However, you do understand that the majority of individuals who are whining did not make sacrifices at an early age to get proper skill training or higher education. Yes of course there are exceptions where an illness or someone had to raise the family due to unforseen circumstances. In the end, we must take control of the hand we are dealt.
For those of you who did go to College or University, I find it very hard to believe you can not make a decent living. The operative word is "decent". We must understand the difference between "Needs" and "Wants". When times are good, "Wants" dictate our spending habits. In rough times, we struggle to lower our expectations and we begin to blame everybody else but ourselves for the position we are now in. I respectfully suggest you sit down with your family and make a list of those Needs/Wants and then evaluate what is possible within your budget. Once that is established, take away another so called "need" and put aside that cost toward a rainy day fund. It might not be much but it will add up. You will all be very surprised how powerful this exercise is and your family will become even closer. All the best!