It may be time to call into question our provincial government鈥檚 decision to lift the wage freeze on out-of-scope government employees that lasted for just one year.聽
Is the Brad Wall government that confident of their re-establishment as the governing party in four months? We will answer our own query.聽
Obviously so.聽
Raising wages, even a modest 1.65 per cent under these current economic times is stretching the bow of credibility a little taut at this stage.聽
We wonder who has been providing this type of not-so-sage advice to the likes of finance minister Kevin Doherty and his team?聽
Lifting the wage freeze, also unlocks a now-mandatory increase in MLA wages.聽
The optics for that are just short of horrendous for those who have been toiling in the private sector for the past two years with no wage increases, or even worse, being the victim of a layoff strictly based on the slumping economic conditions of this province.聽
We also take into consideration what government spokesman Don McMorris noted, last week, that the wage freeze on MLAs supposedly saved $130,000 last year. What was not mentioned was the fact that when the legislative assembly reconvenes, there will be three more MLAs to feed and water, who will automatically qualify for that 1.65 percent wage increase on an already very lucrative pay scale. Scratch that saving off the books and then add a few hundred thousand.聽
Citing fairness and competitiveness, as the reasoning behind the decision to remove the wage freeze, McMorris and others on the government benches should not need to be reminded that the unwashed public are asking 鈥渇airness for whom?鈥� And as far as competitiveness is concerned, it鈥檚 always been an established fact that the best performers in government administrations are always being recruited by the professional head-hunters and they will always be tempted to move along, either on an upward trajectory or laterally to another jurisdiction. Adding another $10,000 to an already bloated paycheque isn鈥檛 going to make much of a difference. Many of these changes are made for the opportunity and power they present, with money coming in third. When you are already rich, the game changes to include other perks and factors. So, citing competitiveness is a mug鈥檚 game played out to make it saleable.聽
Whether it鈥檚 government or private corporations, loyalty is welcomed and celebrated but no longer expected. In this faster-paced game of life, transition is more often the operative word.聽
There are many files on which we can laud our current government, where we can find ourselves on the same page in terms of their collective thinking.聽
We like the bold moves attached to BD3, we revelled in our population growth and a new era of thinking when it came to corporate conduct and royalty regimes. We have seen support emerging for the twinning of Highway 39 and 6 (south) to accommodate international trade growth and safety.聽
But on the wage freeze removal file, we have to take a mulligan on the support side. It won鈥檛 play well on the hustings.
Premier Wall and his crew feel they know what they鈥檙e doing here in terms of the timing of the announcement and the action plan. But, they may have also created a great big hole, big enough for their opponents to crawl through and utilize to their own advantage once the serious campaign shouting begins.聽
