Shining a light on the cushy contract folks at BC Hydro enjoy has lit a firestorm around the province.
A government panel released a 132-page report on Aug. 11 that took the utility corporation to task for having 1,200 too many employees and incentives that are ridiculous in the age of universal belt-tightening.
Deputy minister, Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland, one of three members of the panel stated what should have been the obvious, "Hydro understands it has not been as cost effective as it could be."
Reading further in the report it becomes evident that's an understatement.
The panel lays bare an organization that is overstaffed in many departments including communications, human resources and engineering. And although we suspect the communications department is earning their keep after the panel's findings, we wonder what the other one-sixth of Hydro's work force are doing to protect their jobs in light of these findings.
We're pretty sure that every other employee in B.C. was consumed with jealousy when they read about the great lashings of overtime gravy and the amazing other perks enjoyed by the happy hydro staff. Banked flextime pay alone cost the corporation $7.5 million for workers who opted for cash instead of taking the time. A full 99 per cent of the staff earned performance pay, bonuses in plain English.
Not surprisingly the New Democrats have come out heavily against the report.
We finally have the provincial government looking into the reasons our hydro keeps going up year after year and along comes the protectors of the "poor" working man and woman to accuse Liberal Minister Rich Coleman of being on a witch hunt. Huffing and puffing NDP energy critic, John Horgan was quick to bring the argument around to his party's favourite whipping post - the so-called bloated contracts with the Independent Power Producers - in an effort to deflect the heat from Hydro's employees, a traditional source of his party's support.
Hardly surprising, Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour has also waded into the fray, announcing that the three deputy ministers have enjoyed "massive pay increases" over the past five years and now they're calling for the elimination of 1,200 jobs at the utility giant. We wouldn't expect less of someone in his position. And of course David Black, the president of the union Canadian Office and Professional Employees directly under the gun in the report, has called for a re-write on the recommendations in no uncertain terms. Who would expect him to do otherwise, he's not anxious to be unemployed either.
The bottom line on this whole debacle is why did it take so long for this report to be commissioned? For many of the taxpayers of this province struggling by on minimum wage everyday the reading of this report feels like a giant slap in the face. It's hard to feel sorry for the fat cats.
