It's hard to find good work these days - that's the City of Burnaby's take on the current employment market for municipal positions.
The challenges of a competitive market, as well as negotiating contracts with city unions, are the primary driving forces behind the city's salary costs, according to Pat Tennant, Burnaby's director of human resources.
"We're trying to be competitive," she told the NOW. "There's just a lot of activity in the recruitment field. Everyone is struggling."
The city strives to be fair when it comes to wages and benefits, she added.
"We try to be cognizant of what's happening in terms of the cost of living," Tennant said.
Specialized positions are particularly hard to fill, she said.
"Demographics are one factor, she added.
Tennant spoke on the topic of municipal salaries in response to a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Public sector employees make up to $8,145 more annually than private sector employees in Canada, and work up to six hours less per week, according to The Wage Watch report. The federation is advocating for public sector wages to be brought in line with the private sector.
Though Tennant hadn't seen the report before being contacted by the NOW, she said there are many differences between the public and private sectors.
The private sector can respond quickly to market conditions, she pointed out, whereas city employees have contracts that span a number of years.
"There's a negotiating process," she said, adding CUPE Local 23, the city employees' union, has a four-year contract lasting until December of this year.
"We're cognizant of costs and tax payer dollars," she said. "And we're cost-conscious in looking at making any kind of change."
The federation's report looked at public administration on the federal, provincial and municipal levels, as well as other public sectors such as health, education, Canada Post and transit.
In B.C., the report specifically covered municipal positions in Victoria and Vancouver, including heavy equipment operators, dispatchers and general office support workers.
"On average, the annual pay of these municipal employees is $61,023, while that of comparably employed private sector workers is $56,049," the report stated. "These findings reflect the representative census records of 132,790 municipal employees and 3.6 million private sector employees across Canada."
The report's findings were primarily based on the 2011 National Household Survey results. The federation excluded positions that didn't exist in both sectors from the results.
In 2013, the City of Burnaby had 590 employees who made more than $75,000, according to last year's Statement of Financial Information.
City manager Bob Moncur retained the highest pay, taking home $251,229, up $16,000 from his previous year's salary. He was trailed by deputy city manager Chad Turpin at $209,064.
Deputy city manager Lambert Chu cracked the $200,000 mark to join Moncur and Turpin in the top three at $208,719.
