Defend Public Healthcare

Have broader public sector workers received larger than average wage settlements than private sector workers?  Have broader public sector settlements exceeded inflation?   The Ontario Ministry of Labour has just released its report on settlements in August , so we now have data for most of 2014.  The data sheds some light on these questions.     Broader public sector wage settlements within the provincial government’s domain (i.e. public sector settlements excluding federal and municipal settlements) have significantly increased since last year’s stingy 0.3% average annual settlement.   Click here for NEW UPDATE: Collective Bargaining In Ontario: New Trends, New possibilities, May 2015 Provincial broader public sector settlements average 1.3% so far in 2014.  Nevertheless, they are on track to be lower than private sector settlements for the fifth year in a row , as private sector settlements have averaged 1.8% in 2014, half a percent higher. %

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%

The gap between union and non-union wages in Ontario has grown significantly since the start of the recession in 2008, increasing by $1.71 per hour, Statistics Canada data indicates. The hourly union advantage grew by 34 cents per hour each year on average.  For a full time worker, that means the advantage for having union coverage in your workplace is growing by about $663 per year.  Compared to five years ago, that means the union wage advantage for an employee working full time hours has grown by $3,334 per year. In July 2008, the union premium was already considerable at 26.5% ($25.75 average wage per hour for those with union coverage versus $20.35 for those without, a $5.40 an hour difference). Five years later, in July 2013, the union premium had grown to 31.7%.  Union wages averaged $29.56 in 2013 versus $22.45 for workers without union coverage.  That is a $7.11 advantage for workers with union coverage. Temporary Workers: the biggest advantage? Unionized tem

Ontario inflation is beginning to heat up.  As recently as May, the year over year increase in the Consumer Price Index was a mere 0.49% . Today's data for July indicates that Ontario  prices have gone up 1.65% since last year .  While this is partly due to a dip in prices in  June and July of 2012, prices also went up significantly in June and July of 2013.   Since May 2013, the CPI has increased from 123.0 to 123.4.  On an annualized basis, that would imply an annual inflation increase of 1.91% by May 2014. Gasoline prices led the way with an annual increase of 5.5% in Ontario (6.1% across Canada). Hourly wages and inflation Average hourly wages in Ontario for July  were up 1.5%  compared to a year earlier.  In other words, wages are falling slightly behind inflation.   This too is a bit of a change since May. Although hourly average wages were up a bit less in May -- 1.15% over the year -- that hourly wage increase was still significantly ahead of the 0.49% annual

A Great West Life Assurance executive recently claimed that private insurance for drug plans was becoming unsustainable -- unless changes are made. Almost all private drug insurance plans are paid through employer paid  insured benefit plans (often bargained with trade unions). In fact, although there were significant increases during the 90s and the first decade of this century, drug costs for insured benefit plans have leveled off. For 2010, 2011, and 2012 private drug insurance costs have risen just less than 3.1% per year on average, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information  (Table A). This is a small fraction of the increases in the 1990s (where the average annual increase was 10.5%) or the first decade of this century (10.3% average annual increase). Part of the slowdown in costs is that some high priced blockbuster patented drugs are coming to the end of their patent protection and are now facing competition from lower priced generic versions. So,

Conservatives often suggest that public sector settlements are out of whack with private sector settlements. In fact, the evidence from Ontario over the last couple of decades proves the opposite. Public sector settlements have fallen behind private sector settlements.  Here is the data from the Ontario Ministry of Labour: Percent increase Annual average  increase Public Sector Settlements Annual average increase Private Sector Settlements 1990 6.8% 6.3% 1991 5 4.6 1992 2.6 2.7 1993 0.5 1.9 1994 0.1 1.1 1995 0.2 1.7 1996 0.3 2.2 1997 0.7 2.3 1998 1.3 2.1 1999 1.4 3.1 2000 2.7 2.4 2001 2.9 3.0 2002 2.9 3.0 2003 3.5 1.9 2004 3.1 2.7 2005 2.7 2.4 2006 3.0 1