Public Sector Essential to Healthy Economy
Nov 25, 2011
A November 24 Winnipeg Free Press editorial entitled “How NDP ‘pause’ was made sweet” criticized the provincial government’s “concessions” in light of its mandated two-year wage freeze for certain unions, including the MGEU.
After describing the government’s forced wage freeze as “refreshing,” the article claims that “the taxpayer will be underwriting the future costs of extraordinary concessions made at the bargaining table.”
The author(s) then lists a litany of these “concessions,” such as cost-of-living increases on pensions to health care workers and nurses receiving a two percent lump sum payment as part of a recent contract negotiation. And then they choose to highlight the four-year MGEU civil service agreement, which of course included the two year wage freeze. Apparently the author is unhappy because the MGEU negotiated a no-layoff clause in the agreement and also got a two percent wage increase for workers with 20 years of service.
So although admitting that the government saved $122 million by unilaterally freezing the wages of tens of thousands of workers, the writer feels that the government “rewarded” public sector workers (who they then refer to as “members of the NDP’s loyalty-card club) with “lucrative concessions that will load huge expense onto the ledger through improved benefits…”
Contract negotiations are just that – negotiations. Public sector provincial employees had no option but two take a two-year wage freeze. This does not mean, however, that in the course of negotiations their unions would not continue to strive to achieve the best deal possible for their members. That’s what unions do.
Once again we have an argument for essentially “lowering the bar.” Why not strive to create and maintain good paying jobs that have decent benefits? The economic impact of thousands of employees who spend their salaries in Manitoba can’t be ignored. In tough financial times we need to remember that public sector employees are a crucial part of any economic recovery. These are ordinary people that spend their dollars in Manitoba.
When Henry Ford introduced his $5 a day pay rate in 1914 (when most workers made $11 per week), his goal was to reduce turnover and build a long-term, loyal labour force that would have higher productivity. We all know how that turned out.
Public sector workers are a convenient and easy target for those looking to point fingers without really thinking very much about things. It’s unfortunate, but hopefully we can eventually get the real message across one day in the not too distant future.
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