Historic day equals pay day for some
Feds now working for GNWT after devolution to receive "lump sum"; guaranteed equal or higher pay
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, April 2, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Federal employees whose jobs have been transferred to the GNWT as a result of devolution have been given an extra incentive to keep them after April 1.
According to Blair Chapman, director of devolution human resources planning and implementation, 127 of the 130 employees who will be coming from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) to work in the newly-created Department of Lands will be paid the equivalent of three months salary from the federal government after they start working for the GNWT.
Chapman, who has been negotiating the terms of the employee's transition with AANDC on behalf of the GNWT, said the "lump sum" is paid out as part of the federal government's workforce adjustment agreement.
"It's a special provision that deals with the transfer (of an employee) from one section of government to the other," said Chapman.
The other three employees, all of whom are senior executives, will receive a sum that will be negotiated between AANDC and the employee on an individual basis.
The employees making the transition from federal offices to territorial ones are also guaranteed to get paid at least as much or more than in their previous jobs.
In most cases, the GNWT's salaries were already higher than those of their federal counterparts.
However, 20 per cent of the federal employees will be eligible for a "transition allowance" to make up for a loss of benefits currently paid out under the federal government's "isolated posts directive."
"(The federal government) provides for additional travel allowances for employees in remote district offices. So, for example, if you work in Inuvik, you would be in receipt of not one vacation allowance for you and your family, but two," said Chapman, who pointed out that the GNWT does not pay for vacation travel.
The allowances, which will range from as little as a few hundred dollars to upwards of $10,000 per year will mostly be handed out to employees working outside of Yellowknife.
A limited number of people will be eligible for sums that are higher than that, but Chapman said the GNWT would not make those figures public.
The allowances will be provided for a maximum of five years and will be renegotiated on an annual basis so that employees do not end up earning more than they were with the federal government.
Chapman said he expects many of the allowances will be phased out by next year because GNWT employees are expected to get a 3.3 per cent increase in their salaries at that time.
"If the salaries increase by 3.3 per cent and you're receiving a $2,000 transition allowance and you're earning $100,000 a year, well your salary's going up by $3,300. So now, you're no longer receiving the transition allowance because you're exceeding what your compensation was."
Employees making the transition will also receive anywhere from one week to 12.5 days additional vacation per year because the GNWT provides more vacation time than the federal government, Chapman said.
Although the GNWT did not plan anything to celebrate the historic first day of devolution yesterday, Premier Bob McLeod was scheduled to welcome the new employees in the Great Hall at the legislative assembly at 3 p.m. today.
