The Mayor of Saugeen Shores and the Warden of Bruce County isn’t so sure a salary freeze at the municipal level is going to work.
Mike Smith was reacting to the call by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, urging municipal governments to follow the Liberals salary freeze plan.
Duncan says he made it clear in the budget that the province won’t be providing funding for public sector salary increases for two years after contracts expire.
Smith says they’re already into bargaining with groups on both the municipal and county level.
Smith says Duncan’s guidelines are just that — guidelines.
He says the county is or will be negotiating with paramedics in Bruce County this summer.
He also notes Saugeen Shores has a tentative 3-year agreement with police services but it has yet to be ratified.
But Smith already knows the deal will be more than what Duncan has suggested in his budget.
Smith says he’s not sold on the zero increase or wage freeze because if you go into negotiations with that in mind then you have nowhere to go in the bargaining process.
Meanwhile, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario doubts a wage freeze will work for police, firefighters and other workers because so many of their contracts are determined through arbitration.