A think tank vice president who negotiated with public unions says the Public Service Alliance of Canada picked an ideal time to play hardball with a sympathetic government..David Leis, vice president of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, negotiated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Public Service Union during previous roles as a senior executive in the public service and with a post-secondary school. He told the Western Standard PSAC struck now for good reason..“Many federal services are distant and removed from the government and hence, not such a problem politically. But in the case of the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency], perhaps passports or travel, to some degree immigration, they're very few points of pain the federal government can inflict on Canadians, except those,” Leis said in an interview with the Western Standard..Leis said, PSAC also benefits from facing a “thoroughly woke” federal government..“They also are dealing with a government that's an NDP-Liberal coalition. The icing on the cake is it's tax time,” Leis said..“This government now has given up the guardrail of any promises they've made in terms of the size of government, the size of deficit, the size of debt to GDP — they’ve given up all those assumptions in their last budget. So it's truly an unlimited tap of money they continue to point to,” Leis explained in an interview..Since the pandemic began, growth in the federal service has been well in excess of the growth of the economy or of private sector job gains. Leis said the federal government has been quite generous with its unions already, but its propensity to spend is why the union is asking for still more..“The unions get their revenue base out of those memberships. Now, at the same time, the federal government has had a very lenient approach to managing affairs in the civil service where I think it's still well over half the people working from home,” Leis said..“Although PSAC says part of its motivation is to keep up with inflation. The irony is, financially, this has largely been driven as a result of the inflation created by the very government that it’s negotiating with.”.Although groups like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation argued publicly against raises for PSAC, that’s not the same as having a direct seat at the negotiating table. This leaves public unions like PSAC negotiating with a government that needs its workers to carry out its orders, all the while paying it with someone else’s money. .“It's in the interest of the government to really give this group anything they want,” Leis said, before mentioning their generous compensation compared to the private sector..“Most Canadians can't relate to these public servants. They're frankly in a different world.”.Leis declined a recommendation on what Ottawa should offer PSAC employees. However, he did say the contracting out PSAC opposes is the very thing the federal government needs to do..“They need to enter the negotiations in good faith, providing fair compensation within the reality that most Canadians do not have that type of generous package, and also within the reality our country is likely headed into turbulent economic times, let alone a recession,” Leis explained..“It is truly a larger mess, because this government is not within a rational financial framework. It's not a normal government that is grounded in good financial discipline. And as a result, it's hard for them to credibly negotiate with this union. This is the paradox of the situation, and it's laughable.”
A think tank vice president who negotiated with public unions says the Public Service Alliance of Canada picked an ideal time to play hardball with a sympathetic government..David Leis, vice president of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, negotiated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Public Service Union during previous roles as a senior executive in the public service and with a post-secondary school. He told the Western Standard PSAC struck now for good reason..“Many federal services are distant and removed from the government and hence, not such a problem politically. But in the case of the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency], perhaps passports or travel, to some degree immigration, they're very few points of pain the federal government can inflict on Canadians, except those,” Leis said in an interview with the Western Standard..Leis said, PSAC also benefits from facing a “thoroughly woke” federal government..“They also are dealing with a government that's an NDP-Liberal coalition. The icing on the cake is it's tax time,” Leis said..“This government now has given up the guardrail of any promises they've made in terms of the size of government, the size of deficit, the size of debt to GDP — they’ve given up all those assumptions in their last budget. So it's truly an unlimited tap of money they continue to point to,” Leis explained in an interview..Since the pandemic began, growth in the federal service has been well in excess of the growth of the economy or of private sector job gains. Leis said the federal government has been quite generous with its unions already, but its propensity to spend is why the union is asking for still more..“The unions get their revenue base out of those memberships. Now, at the same time, the federal government has had a very lenient approach to managing affairs in the civil service where I think it's still well over half the people working from home,” Leis said..“Although PSAC says part of its motivation is to keep up with inflation. The irony is, financially, this has largely been driven as a result of the inflation created by the very government that it’s negotiating with.”.Although groups like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation argued publicly against raises for PSAC, that’s not the same as having a direct seat at the negotiating table. This leaves public unions like PSAC negotiating with a government that needs its workers to carry out its orders, all the while paying it with someone else’s money. .“It's in the interest of the government to really give this group anything they want,” Leis said, before mentioning their generous compensation compared to the private sector..“Most Canadians can't relate to these public servants. They're frankly in a different world.”.Leis declined a recommendation on what Ottawa should offer PSAC employees. However, he did say the contracting out PSAC opposes is the very thing the federal government needs to do..“They need to enter the negotiations in good faith, providing fair compensation within the reality that most Canadians do not have that type of generous package, and also within the reality our country is likely headed into turbulent economic times, let alone a recession,” Leis explained..“It is truly a larger mess, because this government is not within a rational financial framework. It's not a normal government that is grounded in good financial discipline. And as a result, it's hard for them to credibly negotiate with this union. This is the paradox of the situation, and it's laughable.”
