No Canadian governments cut pay during pandemic: study
Posted Sep 28, 2021 12:43 pm.
Last Updated Sep 28, 2021 12:49 pm.
CALGARY – Have you taken a pay cut during the pandemic? If so, chances are you don’t work for the public sector.
A new study finds no government in Canada–federal, provincial, or municipal–has cut pay during the past year and a half.
“The federal government told us they never reduced employee pay at least they have no records of ever doing that. On the other end, we saw lots of governments indicating that it was decades ago [that they last cut wages],” said Colin Craig with SecondStreet.ca, which did the study.
He says in some cases, a pay cut could be the best of a bad situation.
“Government spending is not sustainable right now. So, one bad option to fix it is to raise taxes, which would hurt a lot of families and businesses. Another bad option is to lay off workers in government,” said Craig.
The findings show the private sector bears the brunt of hardship in bad times.
The study also suggests pay reductions in the public sector could also help governments level the playing field when it comes to sharing the pandemic’s financial consequences.
The City of Calgary has never rolled back wages. The last time the province did it was in the mid-1990s.
