It's absolutely impossible to paint all government workers with the same brush. Not only do different levels of government differ in the pay they give their employees, but there are also considerable differences in workload and pay between different departments of government. As someone who works for the government, I can assure you that NO ONE in my office is underworked - everyone does the the work of two people, not the other way around. We're also not paid overtime, and our benefits are not particularly remarkable either.
Treasury Board has shown the same reluctance to bargain fairly with our representatives, despite the fact that anyone doing comparable work in the private sector, or even working for other (non-federal) governments, is clearly earning significantly more. Who suffers as a result of this? Well, we do obviously, since we're undercompensated given our qualifications, responsibilities, and workload. But so does the public which relies on our services. Would you rather have your government staffed by people who are competent and able to perform their jobs effectively, or people who are hired on the cheap, perform less effectively, and ultimately offer poorer quality service because they are either overworked or underskilled?
The position taken by the Treasury Board outlined above doesn't surprise me, given our department's experience in dealing with them. It does, however, mystify me, and isn't good government.
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