SGEU Calls out double standard for pay
The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union says the province’s “ballooning” Crown executive wage increases prove there is a “double standard” in how public-sector employees are treated.
A 3.5-per-cent wage rollback was accepted by government MLAS, deputy ministers, other political staffers and Crown CEOS as a way to “show leadership” as the province was asking other publicsector employees to take the same cut in order to help Saskatchewan climb out of a deficit.
But some Crown CEOS saw their remunerations go up, not down, from year to year, and overall executive pay has significantly outpaced increases for other Crown employees.
“The Sask Party government has a two-tiered compensation system where only senior executives receive substantial wage increases, while public-sector workers are expected to accept concessions,” read an SGEU release on Friday.
“This government is still trying to force wage rollbacks and other concessions on working-class families, while at the same time generously compensating highly-paid executives,” said SGEU president Bob Bymoen in a news release.
“The government claims it needs to make cuts in order to balance the budget, yet it’s being very selective when it comes to who they’re denying fair wage increases.”
In response, Premier Scott Moe’s office sent a lengthy statement, saying it is important for Crown corporations, “To recruit and retain the talent needed to remain competitive in the market while providing the high-quality services that the people of Saskatchewan have come to expect. That includes competitive compensation for Crown CEOS. Government will continue to evaluate the compensation of each Crown and its CEO to ensure it matches market conditions.”
Unlike the 2017-18 budget, this year’s budget did not include a plan to trim public-sector employment costs by 3.5 per cent, which would have seen the province save $200 million.
Despite publicly abandoning the 3.5-per-cent reduction plan, some unions contend the mandate is still being negotiated at collectivebargaining tables.
The 2018-19 budget contains a target to achieve savings of $70 million across executive government and Crown corporations over the next two years: $35 million this fiscal year and $35 million next fiscal year.
Attrition, vacancy management and overtime management are cited as some ways the province plans to achieve that target.
SGEU is the latest labour group to criticize the province for its Crown executive compensation.
Earlier this week, following a series of stories in this newspaper, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation raised concern over the province asking educators to accept less money when some senior Crown corporation executives continued to see remuneration increases.