ONTARIO SUNSHINE LIST COMMENTS

Yesterday's Waterloo Region Record carried an Opinion piece by Luisa D"Amato titled "DO not get rid of Sunshine List of high earners in public sector". Luisa suggests that under current (and past) economic conditions (i.e. shrinking), unemployment rising, rising provincial deficit and incredibly ballooning provincial debt "...can the rest of us really support more and more high salaries in the public sector?" The answer clearly is no. Why should the unemployed, the low wage earners and even the average wage earners be subsidizing SIX figure salaries of provincial public servants? ..................................................................................................................... Luisa also asks the following question "Why is there government money for raises for well-paid public sector workers, but not for paid sick days for food service workers, grocery store workers and personal support workers- some of the most heroic, yet most poorly compensated people in society?" That is an excellent question. Let me also add my two cents here: Nurses are well paid and deserve to be so. They work night shifts, holidays including Christmas Day, New Years Day, summer long weekends etc. They work in daily constant danger from viruses, bacteria, mentally unstable patients etc. Their job includes heavy physical lifting and turning of patients. Teachers on the other hand may do some weekend work to catch up on exam marking etc. but they certainly do not work nights or major holidays (Christmas etc.) nor do they work in such hazardous and dangerous conditions. .......................................................................................................... So why do they get so well paid and the other more heroic and essential workers make so little? It's really quite simple. POLITICS! Provincial governments do not want a teachers' strike on their watch. It makes the government of the day look bad. So they buy labour peace using taxpayers' money. Taxpayers including the unemployed, underemployed, low wage workers, essential workers and everybody else with limited power and pull. Teachers hit the financial jackpot once they had an aggressive and hostile union in place to push their demands. Governments, essentially gutless and more worried about optics than educational achievement capitulated to them. Nowadays it's all about sweetheart deals between the two at the expense of both quality education and at the expense of the Ontario taxpayers, the economy and the lower paid in our society.