Response to the CFIB’s “Calling In Sick” Report

Fellow members,

On December 4, 2012 the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released Part 3 of its Pension Research Series, entitled “Calling in Sick: Comparing Days Away From Work in the Public and Private Sector”. The study purports to show that public sector absenteeism rates are costing Canadian taxpayers ‘billions of dollars” annually.

This latest CFIB report continues that organization’s misrepresentation of public sector employees’ working conditions. This is hardly surprising. While it likes to portray itself as a defender of the proverbial “little guy”, the CFIB’s real interest lies in driving salaries and benefits for all Canadians down to the lowest possible level, in order to maximize profits.

As is frequently the case, the CFIB’s methodology leaves much to be desired and this report’s conclusions do not reflect the actual situation in the public service. The myths that it perpetuates can be easily debunked.

First, the report claims that public sector workers are away from the office 12.9 days per year on average. For Institute members, the correct figure is actually 8.28. This is completely in line with the 8.2 days the CFIB lists for the private sector. The CFIB obtains its higher number by blending in statistics from different public sector groups without taking into consideration the type of sick leave, the age of employees or the nature of the work involved. Also, CFIB numbers are estimates based on Statistics Canada data, whereas PIPSC uses information which comes directly from the employer.

Second, the CFIB study looks at selected public service administrations at all levels of government, ranging from the federal public service to a small municipality in British Columbia, in order to paint all public sector employees with the same broad brush. This approach allows it to dramatically proclaim that Canadian taxpayers are putting up “billions of dollars” each year to pay for public sector employees’ sick leave, with a particular emphasis on the cashing out of unused sick leave before retirement. While some public administrations have negotiated that provision with their employees, this is not the case with federal public servants, the single largest group in the study.

Finally, and most importantly, the report completely neglects to mention that the public service is regarded as the most stressful work environment in Canada. This is not a self-serving statement on our union’s part – here’s what Bill Wilkerson, an internationally-recognized expert in the field and co‐founder of the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, had to say at the 93rd PIPSC Annual General Meeting last month:

“The government of Canada’s workplace is especially toxic. Public servants are off work due to diagnosable mental disorders at a rate 300% higher than the general workforce and 48% of all disability claims in the federal workplace are due to depression. (…) In the federal public workplace, we see garish evidence of pervasive uncertainty, employee isolation, injurious human interaction and bloodless bureaucratic rigidity”.

This is not the first inaccurate study about the public service released by the CFIB. Regretfully, it probably won’t be the last. The Institute has been working hard to counter the misinformation spread by this special interest group, and will continue to do so for as long as it takes. You can help set the record straight by using the materials developed by PIPSC such as templates for letters to the editor and MPs, or leave-behinds for local businesses. See the PIPSC web site under “CFIB Campaign” for more information.