WATERLOO REGION — The last in a series of scheduled increases to the minimum wage in Ontario will kick in at the end of the month — boosting the hourly rate to $10.25.

Social activists are waiting to find out if the provincial government will keep going after it committed to gradually hiking the rate from just $6.85 in 2004.

But while they apply pressure to eventually move to a “living wage” – calculated at $13.62 an hour in Waterloo Region — they are pleased the increases have continued as promised.

Premier Dalton McGuinty publicly mused about putting the brakes on about this time last year because of the recession, but reconsidered and is now following through.

The minimum hourly rate will rise almost eight per cent on March 31, pushing it up from $9.50.

“It’s a good thing so long as prices don’t go up and wipe out the benefit,” said Trudy Beaulne, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo.

“Those of us who are impatient would like them to move even faster because costs aren’t going down. Jobs aren’t easy to get and a lot more people are probably having to take minimum-wage jobs.”

She said the higher rate should spur employers to take on more full-time workers since there won’t be as much financial incentive to using part-time staff.

In return, Beaulne said, companies can expect less turnover, resulting in stability and savings in areas such as hiring and training.

“I’ve talked to people who have businesses and they have told us they’ve worked it out and it does cost them less to pay people more,” she said.

Mary MacKeigan, executive director of Opportunities Waterloo Region, said the increases have been manageable for businesses because they’ve been both gradual and planned, allowing employers to find efficiencies to compensate for higher costs.

“That puts money right back into the economy,” she said. “People who are making that low amount aren’t going away to spend it.”

Joan Fisk, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, also supports the increases — especially since businesses have had time to plan and adjust.

“Most places pay more than minimum for any kind of skill level, so it’s not a burning issue that’s going to cause our economy to falter,” she said

If anything, Fisk is hopeful that a higher minimum wage will encourage people to join the workforce who might otherwise have stayed on the sidelines — boosting productivity and helping business in the long run because of lower social costs.

bcaldwell@therecord.com