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Provincial public sector wage increases less than private sector for fourth year

For the fourth consecutive year in a row, wage settlements in the broader provincial public sector (covering public sector workers who do not work for federal or municipal governments) fell below the wage settlements in the private sector.  

 In 2013, provincial public sector wage settlements averaged about 0.3% annually compared to a private sector settlement average of 2.3% according to Ministry of Labour data.  

 That is a whopping 2 percent gap.
  
In 2010 the gap was small, as provincial public sector settlements came in at just under 2% and private sector settlements came in at just over 2%.  With provincial public sector settlements trending downward since 2010 (1.4% in 2011, 1.1% in 2012, and 0.3% in 2013) the gap with the private sector has grown. 

 Compared to inflation, provincial public sector settlements are far behind.  

                                      2010                  2011                  2012                   2013
P.S. Settlements            1.9%                  1.4%                   1.1%                  0.3%
Ontario Inflation               2.4%                  3.1%                   1.4%                  1.1%

 This suggests a  significant decline in the standard of living for these workers over a fairly short period of time. 

 This despite significant growth in the Ontario economy over the same four year period. (Indeed, even if we go back to include 2008 and 2009, when the economy went into recession, there has been significant growth in the Ontario economy.)

 Municipal and federal public sector settlements have also done better than provincial public sector settlements, although in 2013 every part of the public sector -- federal, municipal, and provincial -- saw settlements that fell short of private sector settlements.

Photo: Toronto CTV News
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