Wage Freeze a Political Football
Apr 07, 2010
Recently, the Government of Manitoba released its annual Budget outlining in detail its investment priorities for the upcoming year and into the future. After years of record tax reductions and in the midst of a sputtering provincial economy the government finds itself in a situation where, for the first time, it will be challenged to maintain services and jobs. But that is exactly what this government should be doing – maintaining jobs and services. Instead, the government has announced it will meet the fiscal challenges it faces by cutting or freezing the budgets of smaller, but still very important, government departments and imposing a two-year wage freeze on government employees.
In the process, the government has circumvented the collective bargaining process by announcing unilaterally in the media – before the government employees union has been to the negotiating table to trade bargaining proposals with the Province – that a wage freeze will happen whether its own employees like it or not. It’s either that, the government says, or they’re going to start laying people off.
This is a stunning and disappointing reversal of direction for the NDP which was ever so critical of the previous Tory government’s heavy handed tactics in the 1990s when wage freezes and service cutbacks were the norm. As a province, we are still feeling the effects of government decisions in the 1990s that contributed to significant numbers of professionals (like nurses, lab techs, and teachers) leaving our province and an erosion of services that Manitoba families depend on. The fact that Manitoba’s NDP government would callously trample upon the collective bargaining process comes as a blow to Manitoba’s Labour movement.
As we look ahead, every government expenditure announcement for the next two years should be examined under the microscope of whether they are worth abandoning the self proclaimed principles of maintaining strong public services (which the NDP government claims to represent). Further, does a recently announced guaranteed loan of $90 million to a local millionaire businessman for a new football stadium make sense in the current context of the conversation about government investment priorities?
The government announced in Budget 2010 that 90 percent of new spending would go toward a small handful of departments. No one questions the wisdom of maintaining programs and services that improve health outcomes, support families, and make our communities safer. Most people would expect an NDP government to invest in these areas. But to freeze or cut funding to dozens of other government departments will have a significant impact now and down the road. Does this all mean that the departments of Conservation, Agriculture, Water Stewardship, Healthy Living, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, and Housing are not priorities for this government? These are areas that need more – not less – investment and they are by and large being neglected.
Government budgeting is about choices. The current NDP could have used the recent Budget to underline for the rest of the country that Manitoba was willing to make the difficult choices necessary to lead us out of the current economic uncertainty with programs and services intact and to provide the stimulus spending necessary to grow our economy. Instead, as had been the case with the previous government, they’ve opted to view public services and public employees not as an investment but rather as an expense to be cut.
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It was inconsiderate and disrespectful of the government to start negotations with Manitoba's 13,000 Civil Servants (MGEU members) in the media. Regarding Wowchuk's comment on taking a "pause", this is one thing when you earn $83,000.+ as a DM, but when you earn $29,000. as a clerical worker (many who are single parents supporting children) or a STEP student earning $10./hour (working in our members jobs-shame) it is an entirely different matter! Manitoba is one of the provinces that has done better than most in these times of economic downturn. Just google this: "Manitoba's economic state compared to other provinces in Canada"- about 4,330,000 articles, mostly positive, are available. And, don't forget, these members pay taxes, spend money in their communities and the less they make, the less they put back into the province. And let's not forget many of the collective agreements (and private industry wages/benefits) around this province are based on what the government gives it's own workers at the bargaining table! If we're talking cut backs Ms. Wowchuk, there have been staffing freezes on and off for years, and as many of us know, case loads are staggering for many members (ie. social workers). As for Filmon Fridays (or Wowchuk Wendnesdays as the new rumour goes), they have never been "negotiated into the contract" - what union would negotiate a lay-off of its members? These days without pay have been offered to members on a voluntary basis, and, many members have been told they cannot take these days unless they “have declared a retirement date or have a limited amount of vacation time available.” BUT, most of all, because we care about our services to the public being compromised due to workloads, vacancies and freezes, voluntary days are not even in the picture. So Ms. Wowchuk, will we be “back in black” again, when a child dies (overburdened caseloads), or a riot breaks out at a (over capacity/understaffed) correctional facility, or a spring fire gets out of control, etc. etc.?
D - 2010-04-07 16:28
It sure is nice to see the Province giving $90 million for the new football arena, buy a jet and build new homes for the thousand in need. What about the 13,000 MGEU members? I guess at this point it would be better to be in the private sector. I thought the NDP were for the working person. Noe it looks like they're taking a page out of the PC's book. The rich get richer and the public sector has to pay for this. When is Gary Doer coming back? Or find a leader that can lead!! I won't be going to this new arena or voting for this government again!!!
G Rupert - 2010-04-07 22:31
I am very happy to see that the NDP has raised the minimum wage to $9.50. The problem I have is the reason they raised the minimum wage was because they believe it will promote more spending and help stimulate the economy, again which I believe is completely true. So aren’t they contradicting themselves by freezing Government wages??? How can they say one day that more money in people’s pockets is better for the economy then the next they go and freeze the wages of Government employee’s? The way to get our economy stable is to have people spending. This Government right now has an identity crisis and needs to figure out why the people voted them in. By freezing wages all that’s going to happen is where going to lose good people in MB and the economy will follow.
Jamie Hildahl - 2010-04-09 13:24
As it is, public employees are paid less than their counterparts in the private sector. Granted some of the benefits do make up for the lack of pay. But how does the government plan on staying competitive if the salary gap between public and private gets any wider? Freezing our salaries will only hurt the province finacially and cause their staff to seek out better paying positions in the private sector. This, in turn, will cause a greater work load to those who choose to stay.
S. P. - 2010-04-10 15:11
April 16, 2009 As the Red River swells from spring runoff, hundreds of MGEU members are busy helping communities fight off the Flood of 2009. Over 200 MGEU members have been busy thawing culverts and drains, filling sandbags, cutting / breaking ice and building dikes. “This is a very stressful time for everyone living in the Red River Valley,” said MGEU President Peter Olfert. “Here in Manitoba we know just how unpredictable nature can be. But it helps knowing there are men and women working around the clock, doing their best to protect us from this flood. On behalf of all MGEU members, I thank them for their efforts.” Greg Verheul, a supervisor at the Petersfield highways maintenance yard, says the stress and long hours do take a toll on workers. “We are working our crews pretty hard as we try to minimize the damage from all the water we’ve seen recently,” said Verheul. “I think these guys deserve a lot of credit because they’re working a very physically demanding job and balancing that with the expectations of community residents who want to see results instantly. I think they’re doing a great job when you consider what they’re up against.” Gerald Chartier, Cody Jeffrey, and Bob Hanlon are three MGEU members who have been putting in a significant amount of overtime recently steaming culverts in and around Selkirk and St. Andrews. A normal day lately sees them at work around 8 am and finishing at about 9 pm. Chartier is usually located in Winnipeg, Jeffrey works out of East St. Paul, and Hanlon has been brought down from Thompson to assist with flood fighting. They normally wouldn’t work in the same crew but due to the challenging times, they’re working together in jobs they’re not normally performing to help fight the flood. I guess the honorable minister forgot what had happened.....We didn't!!!
G - 2010-04-13 20:26