PC's more worried about the Wildrose Alliance than workers: AFL
A-F-L President Gil McGowan says the budget contains 6.6-billion dollars in construction spending, but spending on services will not increase, which will mean a cut when inflation is taken into account. He says there is little point in building new health facilities and schools if there is no money to hire staff to run them.
McGowan says the budget lacks a plan to deal with the billions of dollars in resource royalty revenues the government is not collecting from energy companies.
inews880, Fri Feb 25 2011
AFL says budget falls short
That's the reaction to the provincial budget from the Alberta Federation of Labour.
President Gil McGowan notes that this year's budget contains $6.6 billion in infrastructure spending, while program spending will not increase over last year, meaning a reduction when inflation is taken into account.
"After years of neglect, Alberta needs infrastructure investment," says McGowan. "However, without adequate program funding, Stelmach's legacy will be empty hospitals and schools. There is little point building new health facilities and schools if we don't have the funds to hire staff to run them."
McGowan says the budget proves the Tories are like the Wildrose Alliance in another important way: both parties only look at the spending side of the budget and ignore the revenue side.
"This budget is totally bereft of any plan to deal with the billions of dollars the government is failing to collect by not meeting its own targets on royalty revenues. The provincial purse lost about $37 billion in the last decade thanks to this madness," says McGowan.
"Like the Wildrose Alliance, the Tories are willing to let billions of dollars disappear because of politically motivated giveaways and a shoddy collection system."
ctvcalgary.ca, Fri Feb 25 2011
Tories table Wildrose Budget in all but name: Empty coffers, empty hospitals and empty schools to be part of premier’s legacy
Edmonton - This is the budget the Wildrose Alliance made, says Gil McGowan, leader of Alberta's largest labour group.
"This budget is straight out of the Wildrose Alliance's playbook - continued starvation diet for Alberta's valued public service, unrealistic expenditure limits and a total lack of any measure to shore-up the province's flagging revenues," says McGowan.
"This year's budget shows the Progressive Conservative Party is more concerned about the Wildrose Alliance than it is about Alberta's workers, families and communities."
McGowan notes that this year's budget contains $6.6 billion in infrastructure spending, while program spending will not increase over last year, meaning a reduction when inflation is taken into account.
"After years of neglect, Alberta needs infrastructure investment," says McGowan. "However, without adequate program funding, Stelmach's legacy will be empty hospitals and schools. There is little point building new health facilities and schools if we don't have the funds to hire staff to run them."
"Stelmach's budget caps program spending at below the rate of inflation and population growth, a direct response to a key platform plank of the Wildrose Alliance. Only a few months ago, the Stelmach government argued that this approach ‘does not necessarily match the practical demand on government for services, programs, and infrastructure.'"
"On the cusp of the next boom, we should be investing in workers, not cutting programs that support training," says McGowan in response a $61 million cut to Employment and Immigration.
McGowan says the budget proves the Tories are like the Wildrose Alliance in another important way: both parties only look at the spending side of the budget and ignore the revenue side.
"This budget is totally bereft of any plan to deal with the billions of dollars the government is failing to collect by not meeting its own targets on royalty revenues. The provincial purse lost about $37 billion in the last decade thanks to this madness," says McGowan. "Like the Wildrose Alliance, the Tories are willing to let billions of dollars disappear because of politically motivated giveaways and a shoddy collection system."
"This government has broken the public trust by claiming poverty in order to justify axing program spending, while ignoring lost revenues and the fact that we're almost out of the recession," says McGowan, noting that the Conference Board of Canada predicts the Alberta economy will recover all the jobs lost during the recession by the end of the year.
"For years, the Tories have consistently under-estimated revenues and over-estimated expenditures and then announced surpluses in later quarters," says McGowan. "Cutbacks now are not only cruel and unnecessary, they're politically motivated. This is further evidence that the Progressive Conservative government is too distracted by polls and leadership squabbles to govern on behalf of the public good."
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Media Contact:
Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ cell 780-218-9888 or office 780-483-3021
Major stakeholders in the 2011 budget express their concerns
Aden Murphy, VP External of the U of A student union, is worried about the outcome for post secondary institutions.
"Last years budget was pretty hard on university students. It went from 6% to zero". Murphy hopes to see a significant increase in the baseground funding.
Many Edmonton seniors are concerned about health care and hope that it has another positive outcome this year. It's been a turbulent year for the health care system in Alberta. Former CEO of Alberta Health Services was removed from his position and former Tory MLA Raj Sherman publically critisized the system which caused him to be ousted from the PC caucus.
Health care had big benefits from last year's budget - $1.7 billion more than the year before.
Gil McGowan, President of Alberta Federation Of Labour, believes that this year's budget has the same problems as last year's.
"We had a government that was fixated on spending and ignored the other side of the budget equation".
It is hoped that some of the groups will have their requests met at Thursday's budget.
Global Saskatoon, Thurs Feb 24 2011
Byline: Julie Finkelman
Price of tax cuts
Yaffe quotes former Reform MP Herb Grubel, who wants to deprive public servants of the right to strike. Wow! The most recent example of someone trying to stop public servants from striking was Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. Nice company you're keeping.
The right to collective bargaining and collective action is fundamental to democracy -and is largely responsible for all those things we enjoy, such as 40hour workweeks, statutory holidays, benefits and a strong economy fuelled by a strong middle class.
Next, Yaffe complains about the rate of pay increases for unionized public-sector workers between 1998 and 2009. Missing are figures for the previous decade, which saw a massive attack on the wages and jobs of public servants.
Then, the column blames bureaucrat raises for a large part of the federal deficit, but fails to point out the effect of massive tax cuts handed to corporations making billions and, in Alberta, to wealthy individuals making millions. If you really want to balance the books, try restoring taxation levels so everybody pays their fair share.
Albertans and Canadians have said time and time again that they want quality public services and are prepared to pay for them in the way of taxes. The alternative is privatizing services, which will result in an unacceptable decline in quality as corporations cut corners to improve bottom lines.
Edmonton Journal, Wed Feb 23 2011
Calgary Herald, Wed Feb 23 2011
Gil McGowan
Gil McGowan is president of the Alberta Federation of Labour
Unions call for probe into missing billions: Auditor General asked to examine why government is failing to meet its own revenue targets
As Albertans brace for yet another budget that includes deep cuts to vital services, a coalition of unions is calling on Alberta's Auditor General to investigate why the government is failing to meet its own targets for collecting revenue from non-renewable resource extraction.
"Alberta Energy sets a target for how much it collects from resources companies in exchange for the right to develop publicly owned energy resources. But the government has failed to meet its own target almost every year," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 140,000 workers.
"The province is missing out on billions of dollars in revenue that it should be collecting. If that money was being collected, then there would be no need to even consider deep and destabilizing cuts to things like health care, education and other core services. That's why we're asking for an investigation into the government's mishandling of revenue collection: given our province's continued prosperity, there is simply no good reason why we should be looking at another austerity budget."
The union coalition - which includes the Alberta Federation of Labour, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) - has written to Auditor General Merwan Saher (click here for full text of letter), asking him to examine government policies and whether it is meeting its own targets.
"The way Alberta Energy sets its targets for resource rent is shrouded in mystery and blanketed in confusion," says McGowan. After auditing the ministry in 2006-2007, Saher expressed concern over inconsistent and contradictory targets the ministry had set and called for it to "clearly describe and publicly state the objectives and targets of Alberta's royalty regimes." (For AG recommendations, click here.)
"This recommendation and others made by the Auditor General appear to have been ignored," says McGowan, so the coalition has called on Saher to investigate what action has been taken on his report.
The coalition letter says: "Our concerns about public reporting on the royalty regime stem from the Ministry's apparent failure to meet the 50- to 75-per-cent target of economic rent every single year between 2000 and 2008 - a target they loosely set for themselves and the only real, tangible target Albertans can refer to."
If the government had collected in the middle of its target range, it would have brought in additional $37 billion over the last decade, according to research by the Parkland Institute. "The government's purse isn't empty because it's spending too much - it's empty because the government isn't bothering to collect what it should - and what Albertans, as the owner of the resource, are actually owed," says McGowan.
"Albertans deserve to know how much of the value of our natural resources we are capturing," says the coalition letter. "Our quality of life and public services overwhelmingly depend on the revenues we get from Alberta's largest industries."
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Media Contact:
Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ cell 780-218-9888 or office 780-483-3021
January 2011: CEP welcomes new members; New Union Magazine; Victory for IAMAW Lodge 99; NUPGE/CLC commit to examine raiding issue
- There were 226 reasons that the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada was celebrating on New Year's Day. That's the number of new members it has, after the Alberta Labour Board confirmed on January 1 that Bee Clean workers at Suncor in Fort McMurray had voted to join CEP Local 707. For more information ...
- Twenty years of bad decisions on tax and royalty policy by successive Conservative governments have left our province's vital public services extremely vulnerable to under-funding. But our broken revenue system can be fixed. That's the theme of the latest edition of Union magazine. Read the online version of the magazine. Get a free subscription to the print version
Victory for the Fighting 99
- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 99, has won a battle at the Labour Relations Board. The case was about the employer, Finning, creating a subsidiary, OEM, and inviting the employees to join the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC). The Labour Board decided that this was unfair and that there needed to be an opportunity for the Machinists to keep the group. Over the next few months a run-off against CLAC will occur. For more information...
NUPGE and CLC commit to examine raiding issue
- The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) have agreed to continue working together on the issue of raiding. A statement from NUPGE said: "We commend the leadership of CLC affiliates for the commitment they have made to find a resolution to a practice that destroys labour unity." For more information ...
Urgent Action
Hockey Day in Little Buffalo
- The federal and provincial governments have dropped the ball when it comes to dealing fairly with the Lubicon Cree. Now it's time for us to drop the puck - at the new hockey rink in Little Buffalo. The AFL Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee's Operation Hockey has raised funds to build a rink to benefit the Lubicon Cree youth. The rink opens with a big match on February 6th. To join in the celebration, contact the AFL at 780-483-3021 or email [email protected]. For more information on the Lubicon Cree issue ...
Events
February 4 - Deadline for nominations for 2011 AFL International Women's Day Award
February 6 - Hockey rink opens in Little Buffalo as part of AFL's Project Hockey to benefit the Lubicon Cree youth
February 11 - Deadline to register for AFL Equity Conference (February 25 and 26). Note: Room block cut-off date is January 26; registration deadline is February 11.
February 18 - Deadline to register for 2011 Edmonton and District Labour Council School (www.edlc.ca)
February 20 - UN World Day of Social Justice
February 21 - Alberta Family Day
February 25 - Deadline for nominations for 2011 AFL May Day Solidarity Award
February 25-27 - 2011 Edmonton and District Labour Council School (www.edlc.ca)
Did you know ...
• More than half the cost of natural gas used by oil sands extractors is paid for by taxpayers, according to thetyee.ca.
• 88 per cent of Albertans didn't think we were getting our fair share of revenue from the oil industry, according to a Calgary Herald/Edmonton Journal poll in 2007.
• 58 per cent of Albertans (including two-thirds of Progressive Conservative Party supporters) were opposed to the March 2010 cuts in royalty rates, according to the Calgary Herald.
• The Alberta government aims to capture 50-75 per cent of the oil industry's financial surplus, or "rent," but has failed to capture even the minimum amount almost every year in the last decade.
• Corporate profits in Alberta have soared in the last two decades from $3,635 per capita in 1989 to $15,050 in 2008 (adjusted for inflation).
• Since 2001, Alberta has cut its corporate tax rate to 10 per cent from 15.5 per cent, making the lowest in Canada and depriving the Alberta treasury of $1.1 billion annually.
For more information ...
December 2010: Leaks reveal Tory Plan to privatize health care; Farm deaths prove safety laws are absurb; Brace for more cuts to vital services; Time for action on domestic violence
- Documents leaked to opposition parties show that the government has a hidden agenda to allow more privatization of health care after the next election. NDP leader Brian Mason said the documents show that Health Minister has misled Albertans. "It's more proof that the Stelmach Tories can't be trusted on health care," he said. Join Friends of Medicare in the fight to save our health-care system. To see the leaked documents ...
Farm deaths prove safety laws are absurd
- Two people were electrocuted while working on an Edmonton area farm - but health and safety inspectors called to the site were powerless to investigate (Dec 3 press release). They had to abandon inquiries when the discovered the tragedy took place on a farm, because agricultural operations are exempt from workplace health and safety laws. "This is clear evidence that the government's recent decision to focus on education and training to improve farm and ranch safety is completely inadequate," says AFL president Gil McGowan.
For more information ...
Brace for more cuts to vital services
- While private-sector forecasters predicted robust economic growth for Alberta in 2011, the provincial government painted a grim picture of our financial future. "Clearly, the agenda for Conservative Finance Minister Ted Morton is to find ways to justify cuts to health care, education, and social services," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. For more information ...
Time for action on domestic violence
- In a recent Alberta study, more than 20 per cent of respondents reported they had experienced the impact of domestic violence in the workplace. However, employers, supervisors, workers, professional associations and unions can take joint action to prevent it. The Alberta Council of Women's Shelters and Health Sciences Association of Alberta developed a toolkit, Everyone's Business, that helps everyone do their part to prevent domestic violence. For more information ...
Urgent Action
One more push for REAL pension reform
Canada's finance ministers meet in Kananaskis on December 19 and 20 to discuss pension reform. The best option for all Canadians is the expansion of the Canada Pension Plans proposed by the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress. Alberta Finance Minister Ted Morton alone is fighting to stop this. Let him and the other finance ministers know he does not speak for Albertans on this issue. To join the fight ...Events
December 18 - International Migrants Day
December 20 - International Human Rights Solidarity Day
January 14-16, 2011 - CUPE AB Anti-Racism Conference, Calgary
January 17-22 & January 23-28, 2011 - AFL/CLC Annual School, Jasper
Did you know ...
• Only 38 per cent of Albertans contributed to an RRSP in 2008 and the median contribution was only $3,200.
• Average management fees in the mutual fund industry are 2.6 per cent, among the highest in the industrial world and about five times that of CPP.
• In 2007, half of Alberta seniors had no investment income.
• Half of Alberta seniors have no employer pension income.
• Half of Alberta seniors without and employer-sponsored pension have no retirement assets.
• Half of Alberta seniors have no RRSP or RRIF savings.
For more information ...
Which Way Will We Pay?
Too often the budget dialogue in Alberta is dominated by shrill, kneejerk calls for cuts. That's the dialogue that takes place in the mainstream media and among some of the business and political elite. However, it's isn't representative of what Albertans think.
Public Works! Alberta's public services work ... for all of us
Whether it's the best of time or the worst of times, the public sector is vital to the health of Alberta's economy and society.