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An Open Letter to the Honourable John Baird, PC, MP
June 21, 2006
The Honourable John Baird, PC, MP
President of the Treasury Board
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
140 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Canada - K1A 0R5
Dear Minister Baird,
It is with a sense of urgency that I write today to convey the frustrations felt by many of our members with the current state of contract negotiations.
As the House of Commons sits in to the long hours of the night to debate the Federal Accountability Act, many parliamentarians are taking great pains to defend the good name of Canada's public servants. It would seem that they, along with most Canadians, recognize that public servants will be tasked with implementing the new accountability regime and are eager and proud to do so.
In particular, Financial Officers play a key proactive role in ensuring that tax dollars are spent in accordance with the laws of the land. Financial Officers are on the front line in the fight for accountability - we can detect problems before they become scandals and are proud to be stewards of public funds.
So it is especially difficult to understand why - despite being without a contract since November of 2004 - we continue to be faced with contract offers that would see Financial Officers continue to languish behind our private sector colleagues and even other equivalent public service employees in terms of compensation.
A comparative analysis shows that the FI group is at the low end of the salary scale both in absolute terms and in percentage increases from 1986 to 2003 relative to other comparable public service groups such as Commerce Officers and Auditors.
Looking externally, the Hay Group concluded that Financial Officers in the public service trail the national market by an average of 16 per cent in 2006. A Society of Management Accountants of Ontario 2002 survey demonstrated that CMAs employed in government are paid $9,000 below the average median salary for all business sectors.
In order to attract and retain the best and brightest financial professionals to the public service, these gaps need to be closed now. Effective stewardship in an organization as complex as the federal government requires highly-skilled, highly-qualified financial professionals; if the government fails to make public service an attractive calling, no amount of legislation can make up the shortfall.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Governments Operations and Estimates as recently as last week, Comptroller-General Charles-Antoine St-Jean said that there was "no question" that compensation is an issue in terms of attracting qualified financial professionals.
This is by no means a new concern. In the 2000 Report of the Auditor General, it was observed that while "departments need to be able to attract and retain competent financial management staff," managers were seeing turnover rates around 30 per cent. Department managers were even then expressing concerns about retaining new recruits. Despite suggestions from ACFO on how to address these concerns, the problems continue today.
All that ACFO wants is a deal that respects the important role Financial Officers play in the public service. Our members entered into this process with the good-faith goal of securing a negotiated settlement without the assistance of a third-party; this continues to be our goal and we hope that it is the goal of Treasury Board as well.
A culture of accountability requires a culture of respect for the public servants tasked with implementing the new accountability regime. Our members want to be treated fairly and with the respect that is due in accordance with the vital role they play.
The latest offer from Treasury Board fails to show that respect. It is imperative that the government come back to the table now with an offer that addresses the concerns laid out above.
Sincerely,
Milt Isaacs, CMA
Chair, Association of Canadian Financial Officers
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