“While government was quick to give MLAs and Cabinet Ministers hefty salary increases over the years, government employees were forced to accept minimal or zero wage hikes.”
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The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) has condemned the provincial government for blaming its larger-than-anticipated deficit on a newly ratified contract.
The union sent out a media release ahead of the Labour Day long weekend to address the province’s characterization of an increased deficit as falling on SGEU’s shoulders. The government announced last Thursday that its projected deficit for the 2024-25 fiscal year had grown from $273.2 million to $354 million.
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The Ministry of Finance said expenses grew $172.5 million “primarily due to increases in general government expenses for compensation costs” from the SGEU contract, which was ratified in July. All told, the increase from the SGEU contract accounted for “an estimated $133.8 million,” according to the first-quarter update.
That contract gives SGEU workers an eight-per-cent wage increase over the next three years.
“This Labour Day, we call on the government to stop scapegoating those who serve this province and start focusing on real solutions for the people of Saskatchewan,” said SGEU president Tracey Sauer in the media release.
“While government was quick to give MLAs and Cabinet Ministers hefty salary increases over the years, government employees were forced to accept minimal or zero wage hikes.”
The release also noted that it took almost two years of bargaining to reach a deal for approximately 11,000 workers represented by SGEU under the Public Service/Government Employment (PS/GE) bargaining unit. Therefore, Sauer added, the outcome of the agreement should have come as no surprise to the government.
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In addition to the raise, the union negotiated better pension rates for some members and the right to union representation in meetings that could result in discipline.
“Instead of blaming employees, perhaps the government needs to cut back on things like excessive international travel junkets for the premier and various cabinet ministers or special deals and handouts that primarily seem to benefit the government’s friends and political donors,” said Sauer.
In an emailed response, the Government of Saskatchewan said it “is not attributing the increase in expense to anyone.” While saying it was “pleased to have reached an agreement with SGEU,” the statement explained that the reason the province included a line about the contract in its first-quarter update was that attributing new expenses was “standard practice.”
“The government is required to document changes from budget through quarterly reports,” it said. “This agreement was not settled at budget time, as such, the cost of the agreement has now been accounted for.”
After last week’s announcement of first-quarter results, NDP finance critic Trent Wotherspoon took a similar position to Sauer.
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“This government wastes money hand over fist,” he said in an emailed statement. “Now they are blaming their failure to manage the finances on the public-service contract that they should have seen coming from a mile away.”
Wotherspoon also cited concerns over government travel in addition to the tumultuous deployment of the Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) and it’s growing budget.
The province has previously ruffled feathers by attributing larger-than-anticipated deficits to specific parties. In 2021, during a mid-year financial update, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said crop insurance payouts had a major impact on the results.
“Absent the drought, we would have seen a significant improvement from budget and a much lower deficit,” said Harpauer.
That comment prompted a response from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), saying it felt as though the province had thrown farmers “under the bus” during a difficult year.
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