Senior managers in the provincial government have been quietly given a 3% pay hike.
The one-time raise took effect March 23 and will cost about $14 million annually.
The increase affects the equivalent of 4,200 full-time employees in the core public service such as executive directors and policy analysts. Their last pay hike was a 2.5% raise in 2009.
There was no public announcement, but John Dyble, deputy minister to Premier Christy Clark, provided details of the raise in a memo to staff.
"Although this does not catch up the wage increases of excluded managers to those provided to bargaining unit employees, this increase is applied in recognition of the past five years of no increases," he said.
The raise does not apply to deputy ministers, assistant deputies or associate deputies. Political staff in the ministers' and premier's offices are also excluded.
"Funds to support this increase will be found within existing budgets," Dyble said. "This approach is consistent with our approach under the co-operative gains mandate negotiated for unionized employees."
The salary range for the affected senior managers is $48,000 to $113,000 annually.
Members of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union received a 4% wage hike over two years in 2012 and 2013.
Dyble said the salary increase also excludes senior managers in the broader public sector at Crown corporations, colleges, universities, health authorities and school districts.
"Government is aware that the management wage freeze creates challenges for employers," Dyble said. "As the province's fiscal situation continues to improve, government will review the freeze. It's expected that any increase would be consistent with the approach we're taking today."
Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, said the raise comes as no surprise after a five-year freeze. "However, it's unfortunate that government did not deem it worthwhile to let taxpayers know we had given a raise to 4,200 of our employees until after it was already handed out," he said.
Bateman also expressed concern about more money flowing to senior managers and away from frontline services.
"Giving $14 million in raises to management means less for the hands and feet of government — the ones who do the actual work," he said.
