The Provincial Government will today introduce changes to compensation and benefits for most non-unionized employees in core government and in most agencies, boards and commissions. These changes, which are similar to those applied in the recently completed Collective Agreements with NAPE employees, will support government’s balanced approach to fiscal management, maintaining services and creating a more affordable public service.

Through the newly developed Salary Restraint and Extinguishment of Severance Pay Act, the following changes will take effect:

• Eliminating severance, whereby employees with at least one year of continuous service will be paid one week to a maximum of 20 weeks. Overall, the elimination of severance across the public service is expected to result in $25 million in savings annually; and
• Putting in place a wage freeze, to expire on March 31, 2020, in line with the NAPE collective agreements.

Government will also be introducing amendments to the Other Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility Modification Act, which sets out new rules for benefits applying to employees hired after June 1, 2018. These include:

• Changing entitlements for group insurance. While current employees qualify for retirement benefits such as group health and life insurance after 10 years of pensionable service, new hires will be required to reach 15 years of pensionable service to qualify; and
• Instituting a sliding scale to calculate premiums at retirement, similar to the provisions in the NAPE agreement.

Overall, the implementation of these changes to benefits across the public service will result in millions of dollars in savings in 2018, and by 2026, annualized savings will be in the tens of millions.

These changes will apply to executives, managers, non-management and non-union employees, House of Assembly service employees and Statutory Officers and their non-bargaining office staff.

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“In light of the recent agreements with NAPE, we are introducing legislation to enact similar compensation and benefits changes for most non-unionized employees. Our government remains committed to returning to surplus by 2022-23, and the changes made through this legislation and in our ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with other unions will help us achieve significant cost savings.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board
Minister Responsible for the Human Resources Secretariat

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