Senate chauffeurs, mail clerks, and maintenance workers have secured an 11.7% wage increase over three years. Blacklock's Reporter says the Senate's total spending is projected to reach $134.9 million this year, according to budget documents.“The Public Service Alliance of Canada withdrew one of its most contentious proposals, the proposal about so-called Phoenix damages,” wrote Christopher Rootham, an arbitrator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. The union had initially sought $2,500 payments for Senate employees to compensate for “trauma or other hardship” caused by errors in the Phoenix Pay System.In addition to the wage increase, Arbitrator Rootham approved a $2,500 signing bonus for Alliance members employed by the Senate. However, a request for an additional $800-a-year bilingualism bonus was denied. “The bilingualism bonus is uncommon across parliamentary employees as it is only paid to a small number of bargaining units,” stated the Board. “The Board does not order this proposal.”The compounded retroactive wage increases are set at 4.75% for 2022, an additional 4.25% for 2023, and 2.25% for 2024. Senate employees work a 35-hour week. “For context, most of the federal public administration agreed on a 3% economic increase and 0.5 percent wage adjustment for 2023,” noted Arbitrator Rootham.Earlier, the Public Service Alliance achieved a four-year wage increase compounded at 12.6% to resolve a 2023 strike by approximately 120,000 members across federal departments and agencies. Then-Treasury Board President Mona Fortier estimated the cost at $1.3 billion annually. “I feel very good that we have worked very hard, both negotiation teams, and I believe that we have a really good deal on the table that is reasonable, that is fair for Canadians,” Fortier said at the time. She was later dismissed from the cabinet on July 26 without an official reason.Federal employee salaries and benefits totaled $67.4 billion last year, according to Budget Office estimates. Payroll costs have increased by an average of nine percent annually since 2016.“We have not looked at the impact of potential reductions in the public service,” Budget Officer Yves Giroux testified on October 19 at the Commons government operations committee. “Where would that be? What would it look like? What would be the impact on public services? It is something we will consider doing.”A 2017 Treasury Board report, Demographic Snapshot Of Canada’s Federal Public Service, highlighted a notable increase in the number of six-figure executives. “Between 2000 and 2017 the federal public service executive workforce grew by 56%,” the report stated. At that time, executive pay averaged $134,000 per year, while salaries for other government employees averaged $73,000.
Senate chauffeurs, mail clerks, and maintenance workers have secured an 11.7% wage increase over three years. Blacklock's Reporter says the Senate's total spending is projected to reach $134.9 million this year, according to budget documents.“The Public Service Alliance of Canada withdrew one of its most contentious proposals, the proposal about so-called Phoenix damages,” wrote Christopher Rootham, an arbitrator with the Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. The union had initially sought $2,500 payments for Senate employees to compensate for “trauma or other hardship” caused by errors in the Phoenix Pay System.In addition to the wage increase, Arbitrator Rootham approved a $2,500 signing bonus for Alliance members employed by the Senate. However, a request for an additional $800-a-year bilingualism bonus was denied. “The bilingualism bonus is uncommon across parliamentary employees as it is only paid to a small number of bargaining units,” stated the Board. “The Board does not order this proposal.”The compounded retroactive wage increases are set at 4.75% for 2022, an additional 4.25% for 2023, and 2.25% for 2024. Senate employees work a 35-hour week. “For context, most of the federal public administration agreed on a 3% economic increase and 0.5 percent wage adjustment for 2023,” noted Arbitrator Rootham.Earlier, the Public Service Alliance achieved a four-year wage increase compounded at 12.6% to resolve a 2023 strike by approximately 120,000 members across federal departments and agencies. Then-Treasury Board President Mona Fortier estimated the cost at $1.3 billion annually. “I feel very good that we have worked very hard, both negotiation teams, and I believe that we have a really good deal on the table that is reasonable, that is fair for Canadians,” Fortier said at the time. She was later dismissed from the cabinet on July 26 without an official reason.Federal employee salaries and benefits totaled $67.4 billion last year, according to Budget Office estimates. Payroll costs have increased by an average of nine percent annually since 2016.“We have not looked at the impact of potential reductions in the public service,” Budget Officer Yves Giroux testified on October 19 at the Commons government operations committee. “Where would that be? What would it look like? What would be the impact on public services? It is something we will consider doing.”A 2017 Treasury Board report, Demographic Snapshot Of Canada’s Federal Public Service, highlighted a notable increase in the number of six-figure executives. “Between 2000 and 2017 the federal public service executive workforce grew by 56%,” the report stated. At that time, executive pay averaged $134,000 per year, while salaries for other government employees averaged $73,000.
