The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation based on the increase in price to a predetermined “basket of goods”. The year 2002 was chosen as the “base” year, which means the CPI for that year is 100. The CPI in each year after 2002 measures what has happened to prices relative to 2002. The Statistics Canada website allows researchers interested in downloading prior year’s tables to do comparisons year over year. You can view the CPI tables from 1989 to 2014 with this link: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150918/dq150918a-eng.htm
August 6.9%
September 6.7%
October 6.5%
August 7.3%
September 6.8%
October 6.7%
August 6.8%
September 6.6%
October 6.4%
August 5.7%
September 6.1%
October 6.7%
For more information on the Consumer Price Index, you can download Your Guide to the Consumer Price Index from Statistics Canada. You can also call OPSEU research staff toll-free at 1-800-268-7376.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates how much more we are paying for goods and services. In other words, it measures inflation. It is useful in finding out whether our wage increases are keeping up with price increases.
You can estimate how much inflation has affecte4.1%d your wages by using the percentage change figures from the above section or by figuring out how much inflation has occurred since the year of your last wage increase. You then will have an idea what kind of wage increases you should propose just to keep up with inflation.
The Bank of Canada provides the following useful tool for calculating percentage changes from one year to another: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/
Here are the steps to go through in using the Bank of Canada inflation calculator. Let’s assume that your last negotiated wage increase was 2018 and your average wage was $25.00 per hour.
It is possible to use the Statistics Canada CANSIM tables and some simple mathematical calculations to target your time frame and generate a more precise measure of inflation. For example, you might want to measure the change in CPI over a 17-month period rather than relying on the year to year or annual statistics that the above tools provide you. This level of precision is rarely necessary in bargaining but your staff representative can help you get obtain this information if necessary.
For more information on the Consumer Price Index, you can download Your Guide to the Consumer Price Index from Statistics Canada.
To help you compare your recent wage increases to recent wage trends in the public and private sectors, the Ontario Ministry of Labour offers Collective Bargaining Information Services (CBIS). This Ministry provides the public with information on collective wage settlements in Ontario, including:
The reports that come out in March, June, September and December also provide information for the preceding three months on:
OPSEU has a Research Department that monitors economic, political and sectoral trends. If you are going into bargaining and require additional support, please have your Staff Representative contact them.
