‘Banks raise service fees after breaking record for profits.’
That was the headline in one paper this week and it helps confirm that banks rate right alongside oil companies when it comes to being easy targets for criticism. Bankers may argue they don’t deserve to be there but they, like oil companies, just leave themselves wide open. The price of gasoline at the pump almost always jumps up just before a long weekend.
And banks? Well this week was a perfect example. Officials probably hadn’t even finished smiling after the record profit reports came in when they decided it was time to raise monthly fees. And they wonder why their clients get upset?
For the three months ending in November, Canada’s big five banks reported a record combined profit of $6.1 billion. That raised their collective profits over the year to $22.4 billion. And, just to rub our noses in it, the top five revealed they were setting aside $9.3 billion in bonuses for their best performers (read CEOs and upper management).
What’s surprising is that there’s been no public backlash, at least not here in Alberta, over the figures or the actions of the banks. It must be that we’ve resigned ourselves to the reality that bankers will do whatever they want, just like the oil companies, and we’ll continue to line up to pay whatever fees they feel like charging us.
But then, perhaps there’s a real reason why Albertans aren’t up in arms.
A study from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy released on Thursday shows the public sector wage growth in Alberta since 2000 is a stunning 119 per cent — almost double the rate of growth in the rest of Canada. Another interesting fact is that the number of public sector employees has grown faster than the overall population. When you combine those two facts, one wonders if most Albertans don’t care about the increases by banks and oil companies because their salaries are out of whack with the rest of Canada.
When a general government employee is earning an average of $83,326, that person probably isn’t too concerned if the cost of using an ATM goes to $1 from 65 cents or if the cost of gas jumps from 99 cents to $1.04 just before he or she fills up that gas guzzling SUV, truck or luxury sedan.
According to the U of C study the bill for public employees is now the single largest expenditure for provincial and local governments, ranging from the $83,326 down to $53,464 for local school board officials.
St. Albert’s operating budget shows the cost of employee salary, wages and benefits was a little more than $50 million in 2011 and will climb close to $51 million this year. That’s about 42 per cent of the city’s total $120 million budget.
The U of C study said spending on wages and salaries per employee in the provincial general government category was 35 per cent higher than the rest of Canada. Health and social services wages were a shocking 60 per cent higher, local school boards 10 per cent higher and higher education wages were 30 per cent higher.
Since the public sector is one of the largest work forces in the province and its workers are extremely well paid, there’s obviously no reason for many Albertans to whine about increased bank fees or gasoline prices.
