AMAPCEO President Gary Gannage sent the following letter to the Editor of The Globe and Mail in response to an October 24th, 2011 column by Neil Reynolds entitled “We don’t have to surrender to public-sector unions”.
The Editor,
The Globe and Mail,
c/o letters@globeandmail.com
The problem with rants such as Neil Reynolds’ (“We don’t have to surrender to public-sector unions”, October 24) is that they focus attention on popular demons, in this case unions and pensions, while disguising the author’s real target, about which there is considerably less public agreement. Mr. Reynolds’ real target, of course, is the public sector itself and, specifically, the role of government in providing the public services all of us say we want.
The quality of public services is directly related to the quality of public servants. Most private sector employers understand this relationship between their employees and the service they provide their customers, which is why businesses compete for talent and pay their staff competitive wages. It is no different in the public sector, where the competition for talent is intense, although salaries are often not as competitive. Market studies conducted by Hay Group, for example, consistently show that compensation of Ontario government professional employees is significantly lower than their private sector comparators. That surprising information would not be made public if it were not for the union representing those employees, who earn their salaries providing services to their fellow citizens and whose spending helps fuel the local and provincial economy.
While Mr. Reynolds reaches back to the Great Depression to cite Franklin Roosevelt for support, I would prefer to look to the future: the high school students across Ontario who recently responded to our union’s first annual essay contest. I have rarely read such passionate, articulate and insightful papers on the contribution of public services to our society, giving me hope that the future generation understands how the public sector adds value to our economy, our society and our very lives.
Sincerely,
Gary Gannage, President
Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario
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