Ontario school boards skirted wage freeze with raises for senior staff

Ontario school boards awarded raises averaging 3 per cent a year to many senior staff, despite a provincial wage freeze on management salaries.

The revelation of salary hikes at school boards exposes weaknesses in wage-freeze legislation meant to cut costs, but filled with loopholes that several groups have used to hike salaries. At Ontario Power Generation, almost one-third of managers received increases in 2012 and as did 8 per cent of managers at Hydro One.

School boards implemented the raises for superintendents and associate directors, ranging between 2 and 12 per cent, between 2010 and 2012 after receiving legal advice that the province’s legislation allowed for increases. The Globe and Mail obtained minutes of an April, 2010, meeting among staff in the Premier’s Office, education ministry officials and school board representatives at which boards were told they could determine whether managers would receive pay increases.

School boards left the meeting with the understanding that the government would not challenge such raises.  (more...)

Ontario school boards skirted wage freeze with raises for senior staff