How much are public sector ‘sick day’ benefits costing you?

When it comes to taking days off with pay, public sector workers seem to have it pretty good. This report by Brian Coxford of GlobalTV BC asked how much it was costing Canadian taxpayers. When contacted by Global I cited CFIB’s research report only 9 months ago titled “Calling in Sick: Comparing Days Away from Work”. The numbers are enough to give all of us pause—the bill for all those additional days off adds up to about $3.5 billion in additional costs!

Watch Coxford’s story, and browse CFIB’s report – it’s a quick read. There is no doubt in my mind that more effort is needed to rein in benefits such as banking sick days for huge payouts. We simply cannot afford this.