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enns
Joined: 02 May 2006
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 Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:15 pm Post subject: Canadian Public sector pays far better than private:report |
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Canada's public servants earn an average salary far higher than those in the private sector, while the core public service workforce has swelled to its largest size in a decade, according to a new report.
The Treasury Board of Canada posted the 800-page study on its website last week.
In 2002-2003, the average salary of workers in the core public service was $53,000, increasing to $73,400 when factoring in benefits.
"For me to make that amount of money, I would have to work twice as much time," tradesman Tim Cogswell told CTV News.
In the private sector, the average salary was $38,885.
Roughly three per cent of public servants earned less than $35,000, while the same amount of bureaucrats made more than $100,000.
In the early 1990s, the size of the core public service was about 245,000. But between 1994 and 1998, Jean Chretien's government slashed 75,000 jobs to help curb Canada's deficit.
By 2003, the number of public servants had bounced back to 235,000. The total number of people employed by the government increased to 351,000, excluding Crown corporations and federal business enterprises, at a cost of $25 billion per year.
"By 2002-03 then, the core federal government's effective size was at least as great as in the early 1990s," the report states.
The study also shows that civil servants took a total of 7.74 million days of leave in 2002-2003. On average, each employee took:
* 17.3 days for vacations
* 8.3 days for sick leave
* 1.6 days for family-related leave
"I think the whole idea that public servants are somehow overworked is just a farce," said John Williamson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
But civil servant Shannon Steele said she earns her pay.
"Of course I get more benefits and stuff, but I think I deserve them," she said. "I do a lot of work, and it's stressful."
In fact, the study suggests bureaucrats suffer from rising rates of anxiety and depression, despite earning more pay than those in the private sector.
"Our members work in a hostile work environment where they are subjected to discrimination and harassment in the work sites," said Patty Ducharme, vice president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
The report makes 77 recommendations, focusing on how Ottawa compensates its employees and deals with unions. In particular, the study says public servants should not be quick to strike for better wage conditions.
"Exceptional bargaining strength derived from the privilege of serving the public should not justify going beyond what is reasonably comparable in equivalent circumstances in the private sector," the report states. "The time has come to search with determination for better ways to settle disputes fairly, without recourse to the strike weapon.
Critics say the government needs to rein in spending.
"Those of us who are paying the freight for this very well-off public service are going to be so pinched that we're not going to provide for our own retirement," said Catherine Swift of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. |
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070730/civil_servants_070730/20070730?hub=TopStories
I find these numbers to be very surprising. An average of $73,000?!?! I think it's hard to justify these salaries as a good use of tax dollars. However, I'd like to read more on both the history and reasons for this amount. |
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Mosley
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| enns: Absolutely nothing surprising about that. Most civil servants are grossly overpaid for what they do and are arrogant about it too. Scary that the report only mentions the federal government. Throw in the provincial and municipal public sectors and it's clear that Canada has far too many people doing too little for too much money on a public payroll. |
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some waygug-in
Joined: 25 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:16 am Post subject: |
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And thus we stumble upon the real reason for all those high taxes....
it never was health care.  |
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bonanzabucks
Joined: 09 Jun 2007
Location: NYC
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| Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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Absolutely no surprise. My brother and sister live and work in Canada. My brother's a computer programmer and my sister works for the City of Edmonton (government job), but I forgot her title. My brother's got a university degree and has been working for five years. He makes a lot less than my sister, who only graduated a year ago and has only been working for one year. Generally, computer programmers should make more than civil servants, no? It's a pretty knowledge-intensive job, I would assume.
When I finished university, I had an offer to work for Stat Can, but I turned it down because I didn't want to move to Ottawa. I don't regret that decision at all.
My first job here was with the City of NY. Here in the States, I can tell you that compared to the private sector, civil service salaries are really low. The benefits are really good, though. Actually, the City had better benefits (and longer vacation time) than Stat Can. If I could, I'd like to get back with them, but their hiring process takes forever and it's harder to get in with them compared to before.
Also, I went back to Edmonton for a year and a half a few years ago. I had a lot of trouble finding a good private-sector job because there weren't any. I mostly found temp work. However, I did do a temp administrative position with Alberta Education and it paid much better than the private temp jobs. And I mean a LOT better. Still wasn't that great, though.
To get a job within the Canadian Federal Government, you have to take this placement exam, which is like an aptitude test. If you do well, they'll call you back. A lot of these positions in Ottawa require you to be fluent in French. If you're good enough and don't have the French fluency, they'd be willing to teach you.
So yeah, the best career choice one could make in Canada is to work for the government! |
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