CANADA
Senior Canadian Public Servants working for the Ontario Provincial Government received an unpleasant surprise when incoming Premier, Doug Ford cancelled pay rises due to come into force on 1 July.
Within hours of Mr Ford’s Progressive Conservatives taking office, a freeze was imposed on the pay of Public Service executives not covered by collective bargaining arrangements.
Mr Ford faces the challenge of delivering on election promises to cut taxes while balancing the Provincial Budget over his four-year term.
He also promised that C$6 billion (A$6.2 billion) in Public Service efficiencies would be found without cutting any jobs.
The pay freeze was announced in an internal memo after most PS staff had already gone home for the Canada Day long weekend.
The former Liberal Government had imposed a salary freeze on managers and executives in the Public Service for five years, only ending it in 2017 when the Province’s books were close to being balanced.
Head of Ontario’s Public Service, Steve Orsini (pictured) said the new pay freeze was “until further notice”.
It comes on top of a halt to hiring and a ban on all discretionary spending.
Critics warned that a hiring freeze would lead to longer waiting times for services as employees go on leave or retire and aren’t replaced.
The new spending limits are expected to remain in place until after Mr Ford delivers on a campaign promise to complete an exhaustive, “line-by-line audit” of all Government spending.
Toronto, 1 July 2018
