The release of the local sunshine club list (public employees in Ontario making more than $100,000) has generated plenty of outrage, anger and envy.
Anger at those on the list is misplaced because very few of us, if offered, would turn down wads of cash. You can’t criticize someone for doing exactly what you would do in the same situation.
For those in the club, please quit complaining that $100,000 isn’t a lot of money anymore. You look incredibly out of touch and elitist considering that the average family income in Chatham Kent is two-thirds of that figure.
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There are plenty of capable individuals who are underemployed. Be thankful you’re not one of them. They really could do your job.
The issue of public salaries has gone beyond the worth of those doing the work and has become the affordability of the service provided.
Anger needs to be directed to governments who stare at the growing problem and refuse to act due to negligence, ignorance or political motivation.
Ontario’s arbitration system is and will be a sham as long as arbitrators don’t have to consider the basic fact of the employer’s ability to pay.
The new face of organized labour in Ontario is public service and the politicians, from Queen’s Park to the Civic Centre, know their political clout.
Free trade has reduced the power of unions in the private sector since employers can pull up stakes and move to a Third World country at a moment’s notice.
The only recourse governments have is outsourcing some services since others (police, fire, education) have mandated staffing levels.
Government amalgamation has resulted in a windfall for municipal employees. There is an attitude that someone who formerly supervised 20 employees suddenly needs a massive pay increase to supervise 30 employees. Plus an assistant. Plus administrative help. It’s hogwash.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton has once again called for a two-year wage freeze on public sector employees, including his own $116,000 salary.
Without a change in government, he might as well be screaming in a closet.
