COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Want to help with inflation? Hire public servants. Give PS a raise.
So says the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Like most unions, PSAC was miffed when governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, urged businesses to hold the line on pay increases, which he says could risk feeding an inflationary spiral.
PSAC countered with its own report by l’Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomique. The study’s takeaways:
- stable public-sector jobs with cost-of-living increases are good for the economy and will fight inflation, not cause it.
- Real drivers of inflation are unaffordable prices of goods and services for consumers, and price hikes by Canada largest corporations, which enjoyed record profits during the pandemic.
But the impact of public sector employment growth on the economy since the pandemic is a contentious one. Governments drove most of the job growth since the pandemic, which the Fraser Institute argues is “unsustainable.” Canada needs a dynamic private sector and economic growth driven by public-sector growth, and higher payrolls will strain public finances.
Contract talks. Meanwhile, PSAC and 150,000 of the workers it represents are at an impasse in contract talks over the government’s refusal to pay raises that keep pace with inflation. The backlash over return-to-office, including extra costs in commuting, is heating up the wage battle. PSAC wants a 13.5 per cent raise over three years and more rights around remote work enshrined in collective agreements.
Mediation in September. PSAC and the government are going to mediation (Sept. 12-14, 20-23) to sort out some of the snags at the “common issues” table that affect all employees before heading to Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearings to help resolve the impasse.
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