Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
OK, but how does cost of labour affect the argument that teachers, nurses etc need to get paid more to live in Alberta? Do labour costs make things like groceries, driving etc more expensive? I can kind of understand the housing argument, but it's not like Toronto of Vancouver are cheaper. So what's the rub here?
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It's not the cost of living in Alberta that drives up public sector wages compared to other provinces, it's competition for human resources with the private sector. If we want to attract intelligent, capable people to work in the public service, then the government has to offer a compensation package comparable to what an employee with similar education/experience working in the private sector would earn. If we were to pay government employees a pittance, then the only people who would choose to work in the public sector are those who are are incapable of finding work in the private sector due to lack of competence or intelligence.