The Government of Nunavut announced on June 30 that the territorial minimum wage would rise to $20.17 an hour on Sept. 1. The government’s current labour-standards page now lists $20.17 as the minimum wage in effect. This is an implemented labour-standard change, not a proposal or a future increase. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

Workers covered by Nunavut’s territorial labour standards should receive at least $20.17 for every hour worked. Employers need to ensure payroll rates meet that floor. The government says the annual adjustment uses changes in Iqaluit’s consumer price index and Nunavut’s average hourly wage from the previous year. Tips and gratuities do not count as wages for the purpose of meeting the minimum wage. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

The government says it will announce the adjusted minimum wage by July 31 each year. Its formula cannot reduce the rate: if a calculation would lower it, the existing wage remains in place until a later increase. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗

Nunavut’s Labour Standards Compliance Office says the Labour Standards Act generally applies to Nunavut employers and employees, with listed exceptions including commercial fishers, trappers and some people governed by professional regulatory bodies. Workers under federal jurisdiction, such as Government of Canada and Canada Post employees, are governed by the Canada Labour Code instead. Workers who believe their territorial labour-standard rights have been violated may file a complaint with the Labour Standards Compliance Office; employees covered by a collective agreement must use their agreement’s grievance process. ᓇᑭᓐᖔᖅᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ↗