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Treasury Board President Scott Brison has promised federal unions that steps to repeal Tory legislation that gave the government power to unilaterally impose a new sick-leave regime will begin when Parliament resumes this week.

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Negotiations with federal public service unions are set to resume and sick leave benefits should remain a part of the discussions. It is well-documented that public sector workers claim sick leave more than the private sector. Less understood are the reasons for this gap, which has its origins in incentives, the public service culture of entitlement to superior benefits and the refusal of government unions to tell its members that the gap exists and is widening.

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In their defence, the government unions cite a Statistics Canada regression analysis that allegedly found that differences between public and private sector leave use are explained mostly by more unionization as well as an older labour force. That unions play a large role seems obvious, but is misleading. The key variable is the public sector’s seemingly unlimited access to taxpayer funds, not unionization. High unionization rates in the private sector would not lead to similar sick leave benefits, because firms would risk insolvency. After all, public sector-style pay and benefits in the auto industry helped drive Chrysler and General Motors into bankruptcy. It is not enough for unions to ask for unaffordable benefits; it requires an employer willing to pay for them. As for aging, this highlights another problem with regression analysis; does causality run from an aging labour force to more sick leave use, or do the superior pensions and benefits of the public sector attract older workers? There are many instances of middle-aged people joining government for the pension and medical benefits. A unionized government job is a wonderful place to grow old and retire.

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