Alberta government employees enjoy premium wages and generous benefits compared to similar private sector positions, according to a study done by the Fraser Institute. .“At a time when governments are facing serious fiscal pressures, bringing government sector compensation in line with the private sector would help reduce costs without necessarily affecting services,” said Fraser Institute senior fellow Ben Eisen in a press release. .The study said Alberta government worker wages were 23.1% higher on average than those in the private sector in 2021. .After adjusting for differences such as age, gender, education, tenure, industry, and occupation, the study said government employees are paid 5.6% higher wages. This increase is 2.6% when unionization is taken into account. .The study said government workers receive more bountiful non-wage benefits. .It said 70.7% of the employees are covered by a registered pension plan, compared to 19.2% of the private sector. It added they retire one and-a-half years earlier on average. .Government workers took 14.4 days off in 2021, while private sector employees were absent 8.9 days. There were 1.8% of bureaucrats who lost their jobs in 2021, a smaller percentage than the 5% of private sector workers. .“It’s important that all levels of government in Canada — municipal, provincial and federal — continuously review expenditures with an eye to producing better value for money to taxpayers,” said Eisen..“Closing the compensation gap in Alberta between the government and private sectors would reduce costs and can help ensure the long-term sustainability of government finances.” .More than 7,300 Alberta government bureaucrats received pay raises in 2020, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) in 2021..READ MORE: Alberta government bureaucrats getting raises as many suffer.The number grows larger when people look back at bureaucratic raises since 2015, when Alberta’s economy tanked due to the oil price crash. .“So far it’s clear that we’re not all in this together,” said former Alberta CTF director Franco Terrazzano.
