Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is an agreement we have with the union, so if we were going to change it, we would have to discuss it with the union. Mr. Speaker, let me explain why this happens. It's very simple. We have employees who leave the government during every month of the year. We have employees who join the government every month of the year. If we were to say to employees that whether or not you got a full pay cheque during those Donnie Days at Christmastime would depend on whether or not you put in a full year first, then it would be an administrative nightmare to try to adjust everybody's pay. Somebody would join in January and they would have a full year. Somebody would join at the end of June, they would have a half a year's salary and so on. We don't give them half their pay if they start halfway through the year, they get full pay as if they worked all year. For those who leave, in order to balance this all out, for those who leave early, it balances. If you leave early, you won't get your cheque. You can't have it one way, it's got to work both ways. So it balances out nicely. The union agrees it's the fairest way of doing it. No, we would not change it without the union's concurrence and I would have real doubts because it would be a real nightmare to try to administer. Thank you.
Joe Handley on Question 61-14(6): Employees' Mandatory Leave Pay Deductions
In the Legislative Assembly on February 20th, 2003. See this statement in context.
Return To Question 61-14(6): Employees' Mandatory Leave Pay Deductions
Question 61-14(6): Employees' Mandatory Leave Pay Deductions
Item 7: Oral Questions
February 19th, 2003
Page 206
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