Showing posts with label ontario teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ontario teachers. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2012
Hamilton High School Teachers Settle With Board
According to this Spec article the Hamilton public high school have settled with the school board. No terms yet, so I'm not sure what the board could have offered for the local teachers to settle. I assume that the deal includes a wage freeze but that teachers not at the maximum will continue to move up the grid, plus maybe some unpaid days off. I'm also assuming a two year deal, which will mean we'll be right back here in less than two years, because I don't assume the provincial deficit will be low enough to allow for raises. I'll be curious to see the terms when they do come out.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Star's Martin Regg Cohn's Latest Column, Apparently Public Sector Salaries Haven't Increased So Much
I was reading Martin Regg Cohn's latest column on Ontario public sector compensation and I got to wondering about some of his stats, where they came from and what they mean:
"Since the Liberals took power in 2003, average public sector wages increased by 28 per cent compared to the provincial average of 24 per cent, while inflation was 17 per cent. With wages soaking up $55 billion a year, it is mathematically impossible to get a grip on public finances without focussing on public servants in the short term."
Now first I'll point out that the public sector is quite large in Ontario, so if the public sector wages have increased by 28% versus 24% for the provincial average, the private sector average will be somewhat lower than 24%, maybe only 21%. So minus the 17% inflation that would be only a 4% increase for the private sector versus 11% for the public sector. Looked at that way, things don't seem as comparable.
Further, what public sector wages does this 28% stat refer to? All public sector workers in Ontario, including federal and municipal? Over the past few years many municipal workers (excluding fire and police) haven't done that great (I think Hamilton's city workers are on a 1.5% salary increase per year although I should check that). Ontario teachers are coming off a four year deal with approximately 3% salary increases. I would be curious to know what the stat for teachers is since 2003. Plus for physicians, how do they fit in? Are they included in the public sector wage stats? Their increases over the Dalton McGuinty era has been nothing short of stunning compared to private sector increases.
One last point about these stats, I'm guessing they are not reporting on pension benefits. Given that we're in an era of ultra low interest rates, the cost of providing defined benefit pensions in the public sector is high compared to the defined contribution pensions or no pensions in the private sector. Factoring in the present value of these pensions would no doubt further warp the 28% stat.
"Since the Liberals took power in 2003, average public sector wages increased by 28 per cent compared to the provincial average of 24 per cent, while inflation was 17 per cent. With wages soaking up $55 billion a year, it is mathematically impossible to get a grip on public finances without focussing on public servants in the short term."
Now first I'll point out that the public sector is quite large in Ontario, so if the public sector wages have increased by 28% versus 24% for the provincial average, the private sector average will be somewhat lower than 24%, maybe only 21%. So minus the 17% inflation that would be only a 4% increase for the private sector versus 11% for the public sector. Looked at that way, things don't seem as comparable.
Further, what public sector wages does this 28% stat refer to? All public sector workers in Ontario, including federal and municipal? Over the past few years many municipal workers (excluding fire and police) haven't done that great (I think Hamilton's city workers are on a 1.5% salary increase per year although I should check that). Ontario teachers are coming off a four year deal with approximately 3% salary increases. I would be curious to know what the stat for teachers is since 2003. Plus for physicians, how do they fit in? Are they included in the public sector wage stats? Their increases over the Dalton McGuinty era has been nothing short of stunning compared to private sector increases.
One last point about these stats, I'm guessing they are not reporting on pension benefits. Given that we're in an era of ultra low interest rates, the cost of providing defined benefit pensions in the public sector is high compared to the defined contribution pensions or no pensions in the private sector. Factoring in the present value of these pensions would no doubt further warp the 28% stat.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Catholic Elementary Teachers and McGuinty Come to Two Year Agreement
The Catholic elementary teachers union and the McGuinty government have come to a two year agreement. From the Spec website:
The union representing 45,000 Catholic school teachers agreed to a two-year wage freeze and three unpaid “professional development days” in the second year of the contract, which Broten said would amount to a 1.5 per cent pay cut.
The province has also agreed that the wage freeze and three unpaid days will also apply to principals and vice-principals.
So only a two year freeze, plus trading days off for a pay cut for a single year. Not bad, but an exercise in kicking the can down the road. Perhaps McGuinty anticipates not being in office then. Unfortunately with the deficit as high as it is and inflation as low as it is, a three year freeze (which McGuinty was originally seeking) would have done a better job of aligning teacher salaries with what the Ontario revenues can pay. However sick days appear to have been fixed:
Under the agreement, teachers will no longer be allowed to bank sick days and their allotment of 20 sick days a year will be cut to 10, Broten said.
Can't complain about that and certainly not a case of kicking the can down the road.
However what hasn't been made explicit in the article is whether teachers are getting frozen on the grid. That's the increases that new teachers get each year until they reach the maximum. As this post of mine makes clear, freezing the grid actually saves more money than just freezing the pay levels, but allowing teachers to still move up the grid. This quote in the article suggests that the grid isn't frozen (despite McGuinty originally asking for it):
Union president Kevin O’Dwyer said the savings will ensure that beginner teachers don’t bear the brunt of austerity.
If one union has agreed to this, that puts a lot of pressure on the other unions to accept the same concessions. I consider this a Pyrrhic victory for the teachers unions. Only a two year deal and no grid freeze (assuming it isn't frozen) isn't bad. For the Ontario economy, a loss. To get the deficit under control a 10% pay cut plus a three year freeze (without grid freezing) is necessary, especially considering 2012 is looking week, both from a GDP growth perspective and more importantly a GDP per capita growth perspective. Unpalatable, but there are lots of unemployed teacher college graduates in Ontario that would take a job if teachers left from such a cut. Which I doubt they would.
The union representing 45,000 Catholic school teachers agreed to a two-year wage freeze and three unpaid “professional development days” in the second year of the contract, which Broten said would amount to a 1.5 per cent pay cut.
The province has also agreed that the wage freeze and three unpaid days will also apply to principals and vice-principals.
So only a two year freeze, plus trading days off for a pay cut for a single year. Not bad, but an exercise in kicking the can down the road. Perhaps McGuinty anticipates not being in office then. Unfortunately with the deficit as high as it is and inflation as low as it is, a three year freeze (which McGuinty was originally seeking) would have done a better job of aligning teacher salaries with what the Ontario revenues can pay. However sick days appear to have been fixed:
Under the agreement, teachers will no longer be allowed to bank sick days and their allotment of 20 sick days a year will be cut to 10, Broten said.
Can't complain about that and certainly not a case of kicking the can down the road.
However what hasn't been made explicit in the article is whether teachers are getting frozen on the grid. That's the increases that new teachers get each year until they reach the maximum. As this post of mine makes clear, freezing the grid actually saves more money than just freezing the pay levels, but allowing teachers to still move up the grid. This quote in the article suggests that the grid isn't frozen (despite McGuinty originally asking for it):
Union president Kevin O’Dwyer said the savings will ensure that beginner teachers don’t bear the brunt of austerity.
If one union has agreed to this, that puts a lot of pressure on the other unions to accept the same concessions. I consider this a Pyrrhic victory for the teachers unions. Only a two year deal and no grid freeze (assuming it isn't frozen) isn't bad. For the Ontario economy, a loss. To get the deficit under control a 10% pay cut plus a three year freeze (without grid freezing) is necessary, especially considering 2012 is looking week, both from a GDP growth perspective and more importantly a GDP per capita growth perspective. Unpalatable, but there are lots of unemployed teacher college graduates in Ontario that would take a job if teachers left from such a cut. Which I doubt they would.
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