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Alberta’s UCP government introduced legislation to pave the way for pay increases for non-unionized public sector employees Wednesday.
If passed, Bill 5, the Public Sector Employer Amendment Act, will enable regulatory changes that could take years to fully implement.
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The act will repeal the NDP-era Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions Compensation Act (RABCCA), which was initially focused on regulating executive salaries for those making more than $200,000 and eliminated some perks like retention bonuses and golf club memberships.
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The new proposed legislation will require public sector employers to provide their compensation plans to Finance Minister Nate Horner for approval, something already required under the Public Sector Employers Act when it comes to unionized pay.
Horner told reporters Wednesday the current legislation was “unsustainable,” and his office has been flooded with requests for exemptions to RABCCA.
“It has been a source of frustration for employers and government because it is so prescriptive and rigid. It has been challenging for public sector employers to compete and recruit and retain top-quality staff,” he said, noting that public sector compensation accounts for nearly $23 billion in spending every year.
The proposed legislation could eventually impact approximately 30,000 non-union employees. That includes workers at Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health, post-secondary institutions and some public agencies, including Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission, Alberta Innovates, Alberta Pension Services Corporation, Special Areas Board, Travel Alberta and the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board.
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It would not apply to independent academic institutions.
Horner said regulations will be focused initially on the executive levels, but a ministerial order will provide guidance to affected agencies should the bill be enacted and RABCCA repealed.
“That would basically tell these agencies, year-to-year, to act as if RABCCA did still exist, but please come forward with the consultation and building of the compensation plans.”
He said the new bill is about creating a more flexible approach that responds to inflation and a changing labour market, adding that salaries currently disclosed in what’s often called the sunshine list will continue to be made public.
“It would strike the right balance between public sector employer independence and autonomy with oversight of public dollars now and into the future.”
‘A raise they don’t need’: NDP
Shannon Phillips, Opposition NDP finance critic, said in a statement removing salary restraints for Alberta’s boards and commissions is the same plan that led to the “massive and shameful misuse” of taxpayers’ money under previous conservative governments.
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“Instead of caring about regular Albertans who are struggling to pay rent and buy food, (Premier Danielle) Smith and the UCP are giving the highest-paid executives a raise they don’t need,” said Phillips.
“Albertans want to see new schools to address overcrowding in growing communities, more doctors to keep their family healthy, and real action on the housing crisis. The UCP are just making the rich richer at the expense of working Albertans,” she said.
Also on Wednesday, Horner introduced Bill 4, the Tax Statutes Amendment Act, a housekeeping bill that includes authorizing the government’s gas tax holiday until the end of the year, and officially repealing changes that came into effect in June that required the collection of the Alberta tourism levy from online rentals like Airbnb.
Horner didn’t provide an exact timeline for when consultation will be done to fully implement the levy, but said he expected it could come late next year.
“They weren’t prepared … it wasn’t really a problem with the policy, just the implementation,” he said.
A bill promising to lay the legal groundwork for a referendum on pulling the province out of the Canada Pension Plan is expected to be introduced Thursday.
The legislature is scheduled to sit until Dec. 7.
lijohnson@postmedia.com
X: @reportrix
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