The Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council was not surprised by the announced increase to minimum wage but says businesses are struggling with the same cost of living increases as anyone else.

Executive Director Jaclyn Sullivan was responding to government plans to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by October of 2023.

Sullivan says the fact is that many employers pay more than minimum wage already—still, concerns remain.

“It’s not about businesses not wanting to pay their employees $15 an hour” says Sullivan. While many employers are already paying more than that, she says not every business and not every sector of the economy can absorb what will be a 14 per cent increase in labour costs over the next year and a half.