Hudak:  Look to the world for public sector wage freezes

QUEEN’S PARK – Several western democracies offer proof that public sector wage freezes can help rein in government spending, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak said today.

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“Not only here at home but around the world, plenty of governments have successfully frozen public sector salaries,” Hudak said. “Only in Ontario have we taken a failed voluntary approach, shrugged our shoulders and said, ‘Oh well. We tried.’ That’s simply not good enough,” Hudak said, citing the Ministry of Labour’s own figures that show the voluntary approach to wage restraint was a complete failure. Examples of successful mandatory wage freezes in other jurisdictions include:

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British Columbia: The Liberal government has imposed two wage freezes over the last decade. In the 2002 budget there were no approved wage increases for the public sector. That freeze was extended to 2006 the following year. In 2009, the government froze wages for teachers, nurses, care aides, college instructors, park rangers, provincial civil servants and ambulance paramedics. New Brunswick and Manitoba: With the expressed intent to legislate a wage freeze, both New Brunswick and Manitoba were able to extract salary concessions from their public sectors, most notably with their doctors. The United States: In November 2010 President Obama imposed a two-year pay freeze on all government employees outside the military. The pay freeze passed both chambers of Congress the following month. Obama had already frozen the pay of his own top staff members. The United Kingdom: Chancellor George Osborne introduced a wage freeze in his 2010 budget, affecting teachers, prison officers and the armed forces. The Police federation stated it would fight the measure, but a senior union official later conceded it would be unrealistic for his members to ignore the fragile economy and the restraint placed on other public workers. “Dalton McGuinty is running a $16 billion deficit and more than 560,000 Ontarians are out of work,” Hudak noted. “With 55 per cent of all government program expenses going to compensation, something’s got to give – and soon. “A fair, effective and legislated public sector salary freeze is an important – and increasingly obvious – first step.”

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