Alberta is home to highly recognized public organizations, including post-secondaries and health services. To ensure that the province remains competitive and can attract the talent needed to improve these public bodies, the province must be able to offer appropriate and competitive salaries.
Under the proposed Public Sector Employer Amendment Act, the new model would streamline and harmonize government’s direction for non-union compensation across Alberta’s public sector, ensuring unionized and out-of-scope employees receive comparable pay for comparable work.
“This legislation is long overdue and would alleviate the challenges public sector employers have been facing for years. Reducing barriers will help recruit and retain staff in the public sector.”
If passed, the amendment act would affect entities currently governed by the Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions Compensation Regulation. The current regulations do not account for inflation and evolving labour market conditions. The proposed legislation would primarily change the compensation governance structure for non-union employees at:
- Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health
- post-secondary institutions, except independent academic institutions
- some public agencies, including Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission, Alberta Innovates, Alberta Pension Services Corporation, Special Areas Board, Travel Alberta and the Workers’ Compensation Board
The Public Sector Employer Amendment Act would ensure that strong government oversight continues, as employers would be required to provide their compensation plans for approval by the minister of Treasury Board and Finance.
Related information
- Modernizing compensation governance
- Bill 5: Public Sector Employers Amendment Act, 2023
- Compensation policies for public agencies