FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 5, 2000

10 per cent wage hike "good for everyone"

TORONTO – The recently-announced 10 per cent wage hike for senior managers in the Ontario Public Service will give them raises comparable to six months pay for many people in the front lines of social service work, said Ontario Public Service Employees Union President Leah Casselman.

"How can this government give its senior bureaucrats an additional $10,000 a year, and at the same time tell all the agencies in the broader public service that they have to keep their wage increases under 2 per cent? It’s obscene," Casselman said.

The argument that the top brass has been under wage restraints doesn’t hold water. Everyone has been under restraint, she said.

"Rest assured, that 10 per cent figure is going to loom large at bargaining tables across Ontario. If it’s good enough for the people at the top, it’s certainly good enough for the people who actually do the work."

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For further information:

Katie FitzRandolph (OPSEU Communications) (416) 448-7440