This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information. 


PC Fact Check: Doug Holyday misleads public about ServiceOntario wages

“This type of voodoo economics serves no purpose but to give the Conservatives a soapbox to preach on, despite the fact the soapbox is built on falsehoods,” said Thomas.

Toronto (16 Dec. 2013) – Ontario Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Doug Holyday is deliberately misleading the public about the wages earned by the employees at ServiceOntario.

Ontario PC MPP's bath math leads to serious error on ServiceOntario salaries

Holyday stood up in the Legislature recently claiming ServiceOntario employees earn, on average, $145,000 a year. He arrived at that completely bogus figure by taking the organization’s total expenditures ($289 million) and dividing by the number of employees (2,000).

“The typical Customer Service Representative at ServiceOntario earns between $24 and $28 an hour,” said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “This number is in the same range as the $25.68 an hour earned by the average permanent employee in Ontario.”

Thomas went on to say that it is completely outrageous that the Conservatives would take the total spending, which not only includes labour costs but also items such as leasing costs for office space, IT costs, office supplies etc., and then divide it by the number of employees and say that’s what the average employee earns.

PC's happy to mislead public if it serves their agenda

“This type of voodoo economics serves no purpose but to give the Conservatives a soapbox to preach on, despite the fact the soapbox is built on falsehoods,” said Thomas.

Due to service cuts, ServiceOntario has been in turmoil over the past year or so. The government closed four ServiceOntario offices in 2012 and reduced hours at 22 counters by half this year, mostly in the north.

OPSEU represents 1,200 employees at ServiceOntario, most of whom are staff in the in-person service centres and the seven call centres.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE