The president of the Canadian Federation for Independent Business says member businesses need PSAC employees back to work, but without breaking the bank to pay them..In an interview with the Western Standard, Dan Kelly says many of his 97,000 CFIB members have worse things than inflation to deal with..“This is just brutal right now. Our members are really struggling. A strike at any time is bad news. Right now, it's horrible, given that businesses are not back to normal levels of sales. We're dealing with a gripping shortage of labor and many of these government units obviously have interplay.”.Kelly said if Ottawa kept PSAC pay increases to a minimum, the private sector might have a shot at getting workers that would otherwise love a lucrative, cushy federal job..“The need for workers is high, the availability is low, so the private sector has been ratcheting up wages fairly aggressively. And that may present an opportunity for the private sector to catch up if increases in the public sector are kept more modest,” Kelly said..“We need to make sure the economy is the singular focus of this government. We need these workers back to work, but we need them in a way back to work in a way that Canadians can afford. That doesn't mean worker[s] shouldn't see any kind of increase, but it does mean it's got to be kept at least on the same planet as the average Canadian taxpayer.”.Kelly said PSAC began with demands that would leave private sector employees “laughed out of the room” if they requested them. The union’s initial list of 570 demands and a 47% pay raise over three years has been whittled down. As of April 26, PSAC wants a 13.5% hike over 3 years, while the federal government proposed 9%..“Twenty-six out of 28 collective agreements in the federal government sphere are up for negotiation right now. If the government settles at wage rates that PSEC is looking for, you can imagine it'll be that or higher with the other in federal unions. And then provincial unions will be using the same benchmark to establish to negotiate with provincial governments, municipalities, hospitals, school districts..“The knock-on effect of this would be massive, and then it puts pressure on the private sector to try to do something comparable.”.The Western Standard reached out to PSAC for comment but did not receive a reply. Kelly said he hopes for a fair and prompt resolution because his member businesses need the services the strike jeopardizes. .Kelly said analysis by the CFIB showed for most occupations, federal employees enjoy a 10 to 15% wage advantage which is augmented by generous defined-benefit pension plans..“Years ago, federal civil servants had better pensions, better benefits, fewer working hours and jobs and better job security than the private sector, but wages were a little bit less than private sector norms. Today, the public servants in general have all of those same advantages and wage rates that are higher than comparable occupations in the private sector. But you'd never know that by listening to the PSAC union leaders,” Kelly explained..“It's bizarre to me the unions have been able to convince their members that somehow, the unionized public servants are among the most mistreated group in society when it's very much the opposite.”
The president of the Canadian Federation for Independent Business says member businesses need PSAC employees back to work, but without breaking the bank to pay them..In an interview with the Western Standard, Dan Kelly says many of his 97,000 CFIB members have worse things than inflation to deal with..“This is just brutal right now. Our members are really struggling. A strike at any time is bad news. Right now, it's horrible, given that businesses are not back to normal levels of sales. We're dealing with a gripping shortage of labor and many of these government units obviously have interplay.”.Kelly said if Ottawa kept PSAC pay increases to a minimum, the private sector might have a shot at getting workers that would otherwise love a lucrative, cushy federal job..“The need for workers is high, the availability is low, so the private sector has been ratcheting up wages fairly aggressively. And that may present an opportunity for the private sector to catch up if increases in the public sector are kept more modest,” Kelly said..“We need to make sure the economy is the singular focus of this government. We need these workers back to work, but we need them in a way back to work in a way that Canadians can afford. That doesn't mean worker[s] shouldn't see any kind of increase, but it does mean it's got to be kept at least on the same planet as the average Canadian taxpayer.”.Kelly said PSAC began with demands that would leave private sector employees “laughed out of the room” if they requested them. The union’s initial list of 570 demands and a 47% pay raise over three years has been whittled down. As of April 26, PSAC wants a 13.5% hike over 3 years, while the federal government proposed 9%..“Twenty-six out of 28 collective agreements in the federal government sphere are up for negotiation right now. If the government settles at wage rates that PSEC is looking for, you can imagine it'll be that or higher with the other in federal unions. And then provincial unions will be using the same benchmark to establish to negotiate with provincial governments, municipalities, hospitals, school districts..“The knock-on effect of this would be massive, and then it puts pressure on the private sector to try to do something comparable.”.The Western Standard reached out to PSAC for comment but did not receive a reply. Kelly said he hopes for a fair and prompt resolution because his member businesses need the services the strike jeopardizes. .Kelly said analysis by the CFIB showed for most occupations, federal employees enjoy a 10 to 15% wage advantage which is augmented by generous defined-benefit pension plans..“Years ago, federal civil servants had better pensions, better benefits, fewer working hours and jobs and better job security than the private sector, but wages were a little bit less than private sector norms. Today, the public servants in general have all of those same advantages and wage rates that are higher than comparable occupations in the private sector. But you'd never know that by listening to the PSAC union leaders,” Kelly explained..“It's bizarre to me the unions have been able to convince their members that somehow, the unionized public servants are among the most mistreated group in society when it's very much the opposite.”
