Unfair Labour Day

OTTAWA, ON: Just in time for Labour Day, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is highlighting the latestStatistics Canada data on the most serious labour issue in Canada – the growing gap between the pay, pensions and benefits of government employees and what everybody else is getting.

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The CTF is calling on governments across the country to control government salaries and phase out gold-plated, defined-benefit pension plans – guaranteed, indexed, pensions for life. The latest Statistics Canada data shows government salaries are increasing faster than in the private sector. The data also shows the percentage of government employees covered by a workplace pension plan continues to increase while fewer and fewer Canadians working outside government get to enjoy workplace pensions.

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“Government workers are clearly getting a better deal than everybody else,” said CTF Federal Director Gregory Thomas. “And what’s worse, governments are going into hock, borrowing billions to maintain and extend this wage gap.”

Salaries – Average Weekly Earnings

Workers	2001 (July)	2011 (July)	% Change
Government Workers	$756.01	$1,023.20	+35.3%
Everybody else	$598.81	$777.69	+29.9%

Pensions - Employees with Workplace Pension Plans

Workers	1977	2009	% Change
Government Workers	75.5%	86.2%	+10.7%
Everybody else	35.2%	25.3%	-9.9%

Pensions - Employees with Defined-Benefit Plans

Workers	1977	2009	% Change
Government Workers	74.8%	81.0%	+6.2%
Everybody else	31.4%	14.2%	-17.2%

“We’ve got provincial and federal governments bidding against each other, pushing up wages for jobs for which only governments hire,” continued Thomas. “They’re creating a sellers’ market for government workers that taxpayers can’t afford.” The Statistics Canada data build on many other reports that show the large gap between public sector and private sector pay: Frontier Centre for Public Policy – Public Administration Wage Gap Report Fraser Institute - Canada should follow Wisconson’s lead Canadian Federation of Independent Business – Wage Watch Report

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