A local advocate says the recent increase in minimum wage does nothing to keep up with skyrocketing costs due to inflation.

On April 1, the wage will increase by 60 cents to $15.60 an hour, and the minimum overtime wage will go up to $23.40. The increase is required by legislation due to a change in the National Consumer Price Index.

Dan Meades of the Transition House Association says the increase is not enough, as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says a living wage for St. John’s is estimated at $24 an hour.

He says 60 cents on $15 per hour doesn’t come anywhere near inflationary rates and is nowhere near the poverty line.

Meades says the Consumer Price Index does not work if the starting wages are too low to begin with.

He says using CPI to calculate increases by per cent is fine if the minimum wage is high enough, but when you have a minimum wage that is so far below the poverty line, the formula is not really relevant.