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| Almost all top bureaucrats got bonuses - Monday, July 07, 2003 at 13:21 |
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PUBLICATION: National Post ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OTTAWA - Nearly all senior federal bureaucrats pocketed performance bonuses last year worth $39-million despite the spate of scandals, controversies and management blunders dogging the government. Documents show 96% of nearly 4,039 senior bureaucrats received performance pay after a review of their work in 2001-2002, which includes $3-million for the highest-ranking deputy ministers, heads of agencies and CEOs of crown corporations and another $36-million for all other executives. The large number of executives who get bonuses has long been a sore point for Canadian Alliance MP John Williams, who annually tracks performance pay. He has long argued bonuses should only be used judiciously as rewards for the star performers and not doled out to everyone. But he said the latest payouts are all the more galling on the heels of a string of high-profile controversies, ''ethical breaches'' and allegations of wrongdoing involving senior bureaucrats and federal appointees. ''Just how bad a job do you have to do to not get a raise or bonus in the public service?'' said Mr. Williams. ''Performance pay is for work above and beyond what's expected and I can't believe the standards are such that virtually all executives executives exceed the standards.'' Only three of the country's 57 deputy ministers didn't get lump-sum bonuses for their work last year and nearly 1,670 executives received increases to base salary on top of whatever performance bonus they were deemed entitled to. About 96% of the nearly 3,900 executives, from directors to assistant deputy minister, received bonuses. The public service's junior to mid-level executives earn salaries ranging from $102,000 to $128,000, plus up to 10% in performance pay. The next two levels earn between $147,000 and $165,000 and are in line for yearly performance pay up to 15%. A deputy minister makes between $185,000 for a junior posting to $267,000, for one of the senior portfolios and most are eligible for a potential 20% boost. The documents don't show how many got full or partial bonuses, but Carol Stephenson, who heads the government's advisory committee on executive compensation, said the average payout was about 7% of salary. Ms. Stephenson said the proportion of federal executives who get bonuses is similar to those in the private sector, which typically offers much higher bonuses. The image of Canada's public service has taken a beating in recent years. It came under the spotlight with the HRDC, sponsorship and gun registry fiascos and is now facing the corruption scandal at the Immigration and Refugee Board; the high-profile investigation into the conduct of former privacy commissioner George Radwanski and the Health Canada executive who was charged with breach of trust and seven counts of fraud for allegedly accepting bribes. On top of that, an internal audit raised serious questions about the rigging of job competitions in the popular student employment program. It concluded one in five hires looked like they were manipulated by the boss to hire family, friends or other ''preferred'' candidates. Equally disturbing for MPs who have probed some of these issues is the silence of bureaucrats who are supposed to ensure the public interest is protected and the rules are followed -- a symptom of what Mr. Williams calls an ''ethical malaise'' in the public service. Privy Council Clerk Alex Himelfarb, Canada's top bureaucrat, has made ethics and accountability one of his top priorities for the public service, which he tied to executives performance pay for 2002-2003. Mr. Williams said he was astonished that executives in some of these troubled departments continue to get rewarded despite the controversy. All the executives in both the Privacy Commission and Immigration and Refugee Board received bonuses and most did in the Justice Department and Public Works and Government Services, one-time homes of the troubled gun registry and government sponsorship programs. ''The bar must be set fairly low if everyone at the Privacy Commission gets it,'' said NDP MP Pat Martin. ''I think people would be horrified to hear, that by any measurement, they deserve extra bonus pay when it seems all they did was shield Radwanski.'' Mr. Martin argued the government should scrap performance pay because it has no sound way to measure performance in the public service and increase executive salaries if they are too far behind the private sector. Mr. Williams is a supporter of performance pay as a way to motivate or change behaviour, but he harshly criticized the government's approach. ''I fully believe in performance pay properly applied to those who deserve it, but it's become another Christmas present with deputy ministers sitting around and saying 'let's keep everyone happy and give it to everybody,''' said Mr. Williams. Ms. Stephenson said the advisory committee has wrestled for years with ways to improve the compensation of ''at risk'' pay system and ensure it is actually based on performance. Her latest report concluded the program ''wasn't being applied as rigorously as it should,'' which was ''undermining its credibility.'' The report found departments were inconsistent with the way they measured performance and determined the size of the bonus. (Ottawa Citizen) |