4 Myths regarding the public sector demands
From the IRIS Newsletters
Since the beginning of public sector negotiations, and especially during the rotating strikes we read and hear all sorts of things about the working conditions of workers and public sector workers. Here is a short response from a IRIS newsletter to the arguments of the government, some media and researchers.
“Public sector employees are already earning a lot of money, they have no reason to complain!”
7.6%: It is in terms of total remuneration (including salary, pension and social benefits) that Quebec public sector employees earn less when compared to other employees in the province preforming similar jobs[1].
“The salary demands [2] from the unions are unrealistic! “
20.7%: This is accumulated shortfall for the Quebec public sector employees compared to their unionized colleagues in the private sector. [3] So even by getting all they’re asking, they and would still be far from being the highest paid. For its part, the government proposes and has even included in its last budget a wage freeze for the first two years. This imposed austerity, requires the impoverishment of its employees.
“The government is not really demand a freeze because certain because employee’s will benefit from the salary echelon and see their wages increase. “
60%: This is the proportion of public sector employees who will not increase their salary echelon. [4] Note that the comparison of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) cited above already includes the salary echelons [5].
“Public sector pensions plans are too generous and deficit causing which cost us dearly! “
$ 19,166: This is the amount of average annual pension paid by the pension plan for public sector employees (RREGOP) who retired. The plan is far from to good to be true[6]. Moreover, the RREGOP is healthy: it is capitalized at 98.4% [7], it has absorbed its losses in 2008 thanks to higher contribution of employees, and the risks are shared 50% with the employer.
[1]INSTITUT DE LA STATISTIQUE DU QUÉBEC (ISQ), Rémunération des salariés – État et évolution comparés, Québec, novembre 2014, p. 11. Résumé sur notre blogue : http://iris-recherche.qc.ca/blogue/comment-vont-les-gras-durs.
[2]Les syndicats demandent une hausse salariale de 4,5 % par année pour compenser les hausses du coût de la vie (2 %), rattraper le retard avec les autres salariés (2 %) et bénéficier de la croissance de la richesse collective (0,5 %).
[3]ISQ, op. cit., p. 3.
[4]CONSEIL DU TRÉSOR, « Négociation des conventions collectives dans les secteurs public et parapublic – Le gouvernement fait ses propositions aux employés de l’État », Québec, 15 décembre 2014, http://www.fil-information.gouv.qc.ca/Pages/Article.aspx?aiguillage=ajd&type=1&idArticle=2212156065.
[5]ISQ, op. cit., p. 37-39.
[6]Commission administrative des régimes de retraite et d’assurances, Rapport annuel de gestion 2014, Québec, 2015, p. 81.
[7]Commission administrative des régimes de retraite et d’assurances, Mise à jour au 31 décembre 2014 de l’évaluation actuarielle du RREGOP, Québec, 2015, p. 7.