As President of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, I’m writing to set the record straight regarding the Free Press editorial “time to reign in the civil service,” published on Saturday, September 3, 2011.

Like many ideologically-based arguments, this opinion piece was based on misleading statistics and assumptions that should by no means be considered fact, yet are presented as such.

For instance, it quotes a study by the far-right Frontier Centre for Public Policy which states Manitoba has 103 people in local or provincial government positions per 1,000 residents, compared to 84 for Canada as a whole. But this study is a classic example of comparing apples to oranges.

The Frontier numbers make no allowance for the fact that corporations such as Hydro, Manitoba Public Insurance and the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission are all counted as “public” in Manitoba, while in other provinces they are not. The Frontier numbers also make no delineation between full-time and part-time employees, counting every nurse or teaching assistant who works a .4 week. And there is no consideration given to the reality that the four largest provinces have the smallest public sectors. Coincidence? No, just common sense. More people means greater economies of scale.

The article also argues, without providing any stats at all, that “while private companies are becoming leaner, the civil service at all levels seems bloated.” If the writer had done his/her homework, they would know that, in realty, while the number of federal public employees may have gone up, the number of provincial public employees has dropped significantly since 1999 (12%). As someone who represents these workers, I’m all too aware of the toll this loss has taken on those employees who must pick up the slack to maintain the kinds of services Manitobans expect, and deserve.

Finally, I’d like to point out that Manitobans, or Canadians, or economists, are by no means in agreement about the “problematic” wage gap between public sector (or unionized workers in general) and private sector workers. It is still very much up for debate how best to emerge from these recessionary times. We at the MGEU, who represent thousands of Manitoba workers and consumers, believe there is nothing to be gained by a race to the bottom of the employment heap. Government has a role to play in maintaining stable workforces in times of uncertainty and ensuring reliable and efficient public services when Manitobans need them most.

Lois Wales
MGEU President