Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I believe it's important that this government provide clear information to the public so they can make informed decisions. There is a document on the Department of Finance's website called "Questions & Answers: GNWT Position on Pay Increases." A number of my constituents looked over this information and had some concerns that I would like the Minister to respond to today.
In one of the examples, for a classroom assistant, starting pay in 2015-2016 on this graph shows $60,762, increasing to $72,131 in 2020-2021. Now, the department then claims this is a total increased pay of $30,000. That is nearly a 50 percent increase in base pay. That does not make sense with the first part of the graph and, if you look at all the positions contained in this document and posted currently on the website, they are all like this. It seems the department or the government is double counting its numbers to show an overly generous total increased pay. Can the Minister respond to this discrepancy and set the record straight on what expectations Northerners can have of these proposed pay increases? Thank you.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the chart, and I wish I had it in front of me here, the chart the Member is speaking of does talk to the fact that, if you start at a pay level below level 16, pay level 1, you get this amount of dollars through the pay grade system and the step system. Once you get to step 8, I believe is the highest you can go, then it would be a significant increase. I do not think we are double counting our benefit. We are just stating the facts.
The fact, as I see it in this document, is that, when an employee would start at $60,000, in five years they would be making $72,000. Again, that is not a $30,000 increase. Why is this information on the government website when it is hard to understand, paints a picture of an overly generous benefit from what is being presented to the public, and prevents the public from clearly understanding what is on offer?
In a recent briefing, we gave committee a copy of the said document and we had our officials explain as to the steps of the document. I would be glad to sit down with the Member, go through the document with him, and explain it a little clearer, but I believe that the document is an accurate document and it gives people an opportunity to see where they might get once they get into the specific steps of their employment.
I think it would be clearer if the government created an apples-to-apples comparison of what someone is making in one year under the previous collective agreement to what someone is making in a given year under the GNWT's proposal. Can the Minister commit to creating a document like that, which provides a straight apples-to-apples comparison year-to-year of what an employee would currently make versus what one would make under the offer? Can the Minister commit to producing that?
As I said, I will commit to working with the Member. Again, I am not sure if this is going to interfere with the process that we are going through right now with UNW. I will confirm that, but I will work with the Member to try to give a clearer understanding, and I will see if we are in a position, without going against our negotiation with UNW, to provide this information.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Minister's offer, and I don't want to appear ungenerous, but I am not raising this because I am having trouble understanding. I am raising this because the public looking at this is having trouble understanding, and they don't have the benefit of being able to sit down with the Minister and his department to parse this out. Can the Minister commit to, again, providing clearer information or a clear cost accounting of how they came to this figure, which, again, represents a 50 percent increase from base pay, which I think is hard for a lot of our residents to understand as a viable pay increase, even under the new offer? Thank you.
We will try to provide a document that is as clear as possible. Again, we are in the process of having discussions with the union. We are hoping to go to mediation by the end of the week, and I am hoping that this doesn't interfere with that, but we will try to provide a clearer document.
If the public is having trouble understanding it, they need to contact our folks over at Finance or contact myself. I have not heard from anyone. I have had a briefing with members of committee, gave them an explanation as to the steps and how the document works, but again, I would be pleased to sit down with the Member. If there is an opportunity to clarify it out in the public realm, we would be willing to do that as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Mackenzie Delta.
