If the government wants to talk about improving sick leave, they can propose that when we get to the bargaining table next year

The President of PSAC Robyn Benson responds to the Globe and Mail editorial entitled: “Banking unused sick days is a nonsensical benefit that has to go,” (June 11, 2013).

The government would rather talk about federal government sick leave than the scandal in the Senate. So instead of kicking off Public Service Week by recognizing the important work that federal government employees do for Canadians, the government accused them of milking the system.

Let’s get the facts straight.

Federal government workers can’t cash out their sick leave or use it to retire early. In fact, workers must leave any unused sick leave behind when they retire. So is Minister Clement calculating unused sick leave as an asset that offsets what he claims is a $5.2 billion liability?

The government’s numbers on absenteeism are misleading too. When he says that on average federal government workers take 18 sick days a year, he’s lumping in the majority, who likely take between 0 and 8 days, with those who are seriously ill and on long term disability.

Our long term disability insurance providers say that about 8,000 of those aren’t even government employees. You just can’t get an accurate picture by averaging apples and oranges.

If the government wants to talk about improving sick leave, they can propose that when we get to the bargaining table next year. In the meantime, let’s get back to the issue of who’s really milking the system, and get some accountability.

Robyn Benson, National President
Public Service Alliance of Canada

The Globe and Mail article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/editorials/banking-unused-sick-days-is-a-nonsensical-benefit-that-has-to-to/article12468271/