The “Sunshine List” has been part of accountability reporting since 1996 and yields few surprises this year. More names have been added to the list of public sector employees that make more than $100,000 per year.
As happens, some media outlets use the occasion to beat up on the public sector and their wages. Other outlets almost apologize and excuse the list as an outdated, meaningless exercise designed to embarrass well-paid and arguably effective workers using a random number that has not kept pace with inflation.
For all intents and purposes, who is on the list and what they made remains a tempest in a teapot. It’s generally been coffee shop fodder for a day or two. But we wonder how much longer that will be the case – or is a resentment brewing that will reach a boil one of these times?
Our editor has prepared this list the last few years, doing his best to accurately chronicle members of the local Sunshine List. We continue to publish this News, despite trepidations about the exercise, since it is about the only relevant indicator available to the public that discloses wage costs.
We do have a few thoughts on the subject, but these thoughts tend to create more questions than answers.
Highly paid workers also pay high taxes. They have more disposable income, which should benefit the local economy. Would lower paid workers translate into poorer communities?
Many of the workers in those higher-paid job categories invested in their education and sought a career in the public sector. Should their career planning take a back seat to those who chose different options?
Many of the highest paid employees have dedicated decades of their working life to a particular career pursuit. Is dedication not a trait worth rewarding?
To us, the conversation has to start including the obvious disparity for the many workers who ultimately pay the freight for those on the Sunshine List. Let’s not forget the recently-released study from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) that notes public sector wages are significantly higher than private sector wages – often for the same jobs.
The average household income in Ontario is about $73,000, according to the CFIB. That might just be why the premier has resisted calls to alter the Sunshine List’s $100,000 per year baseline. In her words, “$100,000 is still a lot of money.”
The difficulty in setting fair wages for the public sector is that most private sector jobs have some basis in whatever it is their employer produces, or the services it provides.
Minimum wage reform, set to rise to $11.25 in the fall, has placed a burden on many employers who rely on entry level employees for aspects of their business. As a point of reference, a full-time person working 44 hours per week earns $25,740 per year. That’s far from sunny.
Higher up the ladder, a reasonable hourly rate of $15 to $20 will average out to $35-$45,000 per year. It takes a combination of those wage amounts to reach the average Ontario wage.
Is it any wonder, then, that there is a bit of grumbling amongst business people when their single greatest competitor for talent isn’t Joe’s shop down the street, but instead the very government to which he pays his taxes? That’s an issue which could well turn into a hot potato for current municipal councillors.
Ultimately, workers of every stripe intent on doing a good job deserve to be paid fairly. The great challenge moving forward will be achieving some sense of fairness or equilibrium, so we don’t end up with a society that is forced to struggle just to enhance the lifestyles of a few.
