It was announced Thursday that the Premier Ed Stelmach would freeze the wages for civil services managers in an ongoing effort to solve some of Alberta’s financial woes. To some, the actions seem drastic, and city officials do not believe that they need to freeze their management’s wages because they see signs that the economy is improving much quicker than people anticipate.
The city council believes that a modest 3% tax hike on earnings of the city’s staff will be enough to make it though the questionable times. The city council has actually been raising wages for their employees. The RCMP also saw a solid 7% gain in their wages. Also, the city is negotiating new salary contracts with the local firefighter’s union. A raise for the fire fighters is also expected. The city just doesn’t believe that wage freezes will spur any type of economic growth.
City council members said they would be able to meet any budget deficit with a slight increase in property taxes, but claim the increase will be less than 3%.
The salary freeze on civil service managers will save the province an estimated $600 million this year. Although one public sector will prevent wages from increasing, very few expect to see other sectors follow the example. Many people don’t even agree with decision by Ed Stelmach.
Stelmach said he also plans to ask teachers, nurses, doctors, and other public workers to voluntarily accept the freeze in an effort to save money over the next few years.
