Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, when many people think of excluded or non-unionized employees they think of senior managers and higher ups in government, when in fact there are many who serve in regular positions such as secretaries, administrative assistants, and analysts. My question for the Minister of Finance is: How will this pay freeze affect non-management employees in the public service? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Masi. Minister of Finance.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Member is referring to those that are in the public service with Union of Northern Workers, there’s a process that we're going through right through negotiations, and whatever agreement they come up with we will adhere to that.
I actually was referring to members outside of collective bargaining who are excluded from the union and who have had their salaries frozen by the announcement we heard a couple of days ago, so if the Minister could clarify those employees.
The announcement that was made a few days ago freezing the salaries for all managers, excluded employees, and deputy ministers, I think the total was about 844 people. What we are doing is freezing the grids, so there is still an opportunity for them to progress through the grids that they're in right now, up to about, my understanding is, 2.5 per cent a year. If they haven't reached the top of their grid, there's still opportunity there for them. The grids are frozen, though.
Can the Minister of Finance provide the cost saving numbers that will result from this measure for both management level and non-management level excluded employees?
The total savings over the two years that we've enacted the freeze it will be approximately $3.8 million. That would include the excluded employees, senior managers, and the deputy ministers.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Kam Lake.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I think we must be cautious in moving forward with these decisions and I would encourage the Minister to carefully evaluate whether non-management employees should be considered under this wage freeze. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We have taken that into consideration and we have to understand that we're facing some challenges fiscally, and with some of the asks from this Legislative Assembly going forward we're going to be having to manage our finances a lot closer. But I take the Member's point and we will have an opportunity to have a discussion concerning the savings that we need to realize during the business planning process and when we table the Main Estimates.
Masi. Oral questions. Member for Sahtu.
