Canada’s federal executives are pressing for raises and a sweeping review of overall compensation packages paid to the senior cadre.

And they may have an ally in the country’s top bureaucrat. Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick has signalled in recent speeches the time is ripe for a review of how the executive ranks are structured — and paid.

Wernick recently told a meeting of senior executives he felt the public service is managed by too many layers of executives; re-opening a longstanding debate about how to restructure the five levels of executives (Ex 1 to Ex 5) in government.

The federal bureaucracy’s 6,480 executives rarely grumble in public about pay, but compensation has become a hot-button issue as they watched their salaries fall up to 11 per cent behind those of unionized bureaucrats over the last five years.

The Association of Professional Executives in the Public Service of Canada (APEX), which represents executives, is pressing for raises, going back to 2016, and an “update of the entire suite of executive salary and non-salary compensation.”

It also wants an “arms-length process” to advise government on compensation and retention of executives, which was provided by an external advisory committee for nearly 20 years until it was dismantled several years ago.

Executives are the only federal employees who don’t have a third-party process to advise and advocate for the terms and conditions of their work. Unionized employees have collective bargaining. (Some argue there is an inherent conflict in having management negotiate pay and benefits with unions that they, as bureaucrats, will ultimately benefit from.)

Salary increases for MPs and Senators are set by a formula linked to the average increases negotiated by unions for large private sector firms with more than 500 employees. MPs have outpaced executives with raises of more than nine per cent over the past five years.

The structure and pay of executives is set by Treasury Board as employer and general manager, which has so far remained silent on possible raises or a review of the cadre.

“The government of Canada is committed to compensate all public service employees in a way that is fair for them and for all Canadians,” the department said in an email.

The last major review of executive pay and working conditions was done 20 years ago.

Since then, the government has tried to keep entry executive salaries in step with those in the private sector so these managers will stay in the public service. Public service executives tend to stay once they start up the executive ladder even though there is a widening salary gap with the higher-paying private sector as they climb the ranks.

The number of executives have mushroomed with more layers today between the working level and deputy ministers than ever before. By all accounts, Treasury Board has been examining what to do with executives, but there has been little interest at the political level.

One long-time senior executive said anything to do with executive pay and structure is politically sensitive because changes have to “pass the sniff test” of public opinion rather than whether they would improve performance or management.

Treasury Board could tackle the issues of levels and pay separately or together because any restructuring or delayering will invariably have an impact on pay. With fewer levels, the maximum and minimum salary ranges for the remaining levels would have to change.

The most talked about proposal is to collapse five levels into three. That could mean merging Ex 4 and Ex 5 into one level, as well Ex 1 and 2 into another level, leaving Ex 3 intact.

A pay review could also examine performance pay, bonuses and the salary compression between executives and senior unionized staff, which left unchecked, will become a big obstacle in recruiting new executives.

Unlike other employees, executives get performance pay and bonuses. Their base salaries start at $106,900 for an Ex 1 and go up to $202,500 for an ADM or Ex-5.

A junior executive can earn up to 12 per cent of their salaries for meeting the expectations of their performance agreements and another three per cent bonus on top if they exceed all expectations. A senior executive can earn up to 20 per cent of salary and an extra six per cent as a bonus.

The disquiet among executives over compensation emerged in APEX’s recent health and work survey. It flagged the lowest satisfaction levels with pay in 20 years, along with mounting workload and longer hours, as worrisome management trends.

A flashpoint is the ever-narrowing gap or compression between executive salaries and those of the employees they supervise. In some cases, executive salaries have flipped with their staff making more than their bosses.

This has left many of the senior professional, who would be groomed for executive jobs, thinking twice about taking on the extra work, headaches and pressure of management. With overtime, they can also make more than their executive bosses.

About 84 per cent of all executives are recruited from nine feeder groups. More than half come from the ranks of economists and social scientists (EC); program administration (PM) and administrative services (AS) – all of whom have received raises that put their salaries close to or more than their bosses.

The most acute example are senior policy analysts, known in bureaucratic circles as an EC-8s, who earn up to $129,848 a year – plus overtime – compared to the top $125,700 salary for an entry-level executive or EX 1.

Top-level computer specialists and engineers make considerably more than entry level executives – $141,426 and $142,690 respectively – but they account for less than six per cent of the promotions into executive ranks over the past decade. The economists and social scientists (EC group), however, filled nearly 32 per cent entry level executive jobs in the same period.

Not surprisingly, the APEX survey found EX 1s, are the most unsatisfied with pay. Less than half said they were content.

APEX argues the government could take a big step toward resolving the pay issue by giving executives the same four-year raises given to unionized employees.

The Trudeau government has settled with unions representing more than 95 per cent of the public service. They have received raises worth five per cent over four years, dating back to 2014.

Most have also received signing bonuses or other wage adjustments on top of that. The border guards, for example, just reached a tentative deal giving them a 17.5 per cent raise over four years.

At that same meeting of senior executives, Wernick was pressed about raises. He said Treasury Board ministers are considering an increase once collective bargaining with unions is completed but warned it would be “modest.”

At #ADMForum, responding to @APEX_GC question, @Clerk_GC said EX econ. increase is coming (in weeks, after coll. bargaining) and w/b modest — APEX (@APEX_GC) April 11, 2018

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There has been much speculation as to why executives haven’t had a raise. One theory is the government partly blames executives for their departments not being prepared when the Phoenix was rolled out.

Another is the government wants all collective agreements implemented and the files of rank-and file employee sorted out before adding raises and back pay for 6,480 executives. Others say some ministers may be disappointed in the public service for not delivering their agenda as quickly as expected.

The executive salary gap began in 2013-14 when the government started giving executives smaller raises than unionized employees. They have received raises totalling two per cent since then.

Executives: By the Numbers:

6,480: number of executives

50.2: average age

44.9: average age of public service

36: deputy ministers

41: associate deputy ministers

56.7: average age of deputy ministers

54.4: average age of associate deputy ministers

53.8: average age of Ex 4 to 5

50.1: average age of Ex 1 to Ex 3