Ceci hoping for big savings
Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci said he hopes to get “significant operating savings” from upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.
The minister mentioned the negotiations in response to a question about how the government is cutting costs, after speaking at a Conference Board of Canada event at the downtown Westin Hotel.
“We have a number of negotiations coming up now, with regard to collective bargaining agreements and we’ll be working hard — to negotiate at the table, of course, I’m not going to negotiate here — working hard to ensure we get the best price for that agreement, which will be significant in terms of operating savings,” said Ceci.
The government has a number of collective bargaining agreements expiring in 2017, including with various unions representing 75,000 Alberta Health Services employees and 24,000 Government of Alberta employees.
“Certainly we respect the hard-working public servants involved with government directly or government-affiliated. We’re going to continue on our path of looking for cost savings as we’ve already done,” Ceci said in an interview before question period at the legislature.
Ceci said the province is trying to control labour costs by restraining public service hiring and freezing salaries at agencies, boards and commissions. A recent collective bargaining agreement with doctors, which the government hopes will save $500 million over two years, is an example of how these agreements can sometimes yield operating savings.
Albertans shouldn’t expect a big spending budget next week, Ceci warned as he both dampened expectations for the March 16 budget and expressed cautious optimism about the province’s economic outlook.
Any near-term growth the province experiences will take some time before it is felt by Alberta families, said Ceci. The government, he said, will be trying to pinch pennies, too, as it deals with massive deficits.
“Premier (Rachel) Notley and I have been clear we do not have room for major new spending initiatives or programs,” said Ceci.
“We’re turning the tap down on spending.”
Ceci also ruled out a sales tax, saying the government had “to find other ways to work within the constraints we have.”