Toronto Public Servants Take An Average of 10.4 Sick Days a Year?

You know, this is just craziness...

I don't know of even one company in the private sector that would allow one employee to take 10 sick days in one year without serious documentation, yet the entire Toronto Public Service takes an average of 10.4 sick days every year?  What the hell is going on?

Here's the quote from the Globe and Mail:

Chris Selley: It is ‘fair’ to judge malfunctioning TTC employees

Toronto public servants take an average of 10.4 sick days a year, according to a budget briefing note prepared by human resources. That’s 50% higher than the provincial average. It’s not an attack on organized labour to demand an explanation. If organized labour and its supporters want to maintain the public service as the best compensated workforce in the land, they ought to embrace the concept of accountability.

I was able to find this "Budget Briefing Note" that Chris Selley referred to in his article. The main page for the note can be found at the following link: City of Toronto 2011 Budget, and the actual PDF file of the note can be found at: 2011 BUDGET BRIEFING NOTE - Toronto Public Service HR Information.

You know, I personally can't even remember the last time that I took a sick day... But hey, when you work in the private sector where no job is guaranteed, that's the reality that you live in...

Unfortunately for our City of Toronto Staff, there is no such reality. They live in a magical fantasy land of rainbows and unicorns, where there is absolutely no accountibility for performance, you get annual merit pay increases just for existing, and where if you don't take at least 10 sick days a year, apparently you're a sucker.

--jackandcokewithalime


(Image:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markwatmough/4912714817/sizes/l/in/photostream/ by Mark Watmough on flickr
)