Wage rage.

I like that phrase, coined by the newsroom at Radio NL in Kamloops, to lead their story on yesterday’s BC Government release of public sector salaries.

You know things are completely out of whack when you read a report like this, see someone making a quarter million tax dollars for pushing paper and managing people, and you almost think to yourself: “Hey, that’s not a bad deal.” Uh, yes it is.

Every public sector agency must declare the pay packages for their top five earners, assuming they make over $125,000 a year. That full list can be found here.

For those of you keeping score at home, here are the top 10 earners in the BC public sector (Note: our old friend, BC Ferries CEO David Hahn, would be #1 on this list, except Ferries is exempt from reporting out this way):

1. T.M. Bechard, Managing Director, Powerex (BC Hydro): $1,011,718.00 (Last year: $636,315)
2. Allan Seckel, Deputy Minister to the Premier (includes severance): $923,907.73 (Last year: $272,847)
3. Martyn Brown, Deputy Minister of Jobs, Tourism & Innovation (includes severance): $653,175.92 (Last year: $170,544)
4. Stephen Toope, President and Vice Chancellor of UBC: $579,332.00 (Last year: $483,418)
5. Warren Buckley, President and CEO of BC Pavilion Corp.: $563,707.00 (Last year: $538,304)
6. Kevin Mahoney, President and CEO of BC Railway Co. (includes severance): $523,456.00 (Last year: n/a)
7. Geri Prior, CFO of ICBC: $522,777.00 (Last year: $443,736)
8. T.M. Conway, President and CEO, Powerex (BC Hydro): $ 522,425.00 (Last year: $434,991)
9. Jon Schubert, President and CEO of ICBC: $522,178.00 (Last year: $346,263)
10. Brenda M. Leong, Chair, BC Securities Commission, $499,251.00 (Last year: $410,401)

Some perspective: beloved Vancouver Canuck top liner Alex “Bite Me” Burrows makes $2 million a year. Premier Christy Clark pulls down roughly $190,000 a year.

Some more perspective: the number of BC public sector employees making $100,000 annually has jumped 22% in two years.

Those severance bumps for Misters Seckel, Brown and Mahoney look pretty good, eh? As Victoria Times-Colonist columnist Les Leyne quipped this morning: “If you think working for the public service is lucrative, you should try getting fired from it.”

Look, none of us begrudge someone being compensated for their job. But this is way out-of-hand. It used to be that public sector employees earned slightly less than the private sector, but made up for it in pensions, job stability, benefits, etc. Those days are long gone. As our friends at the Fraser Institute point out:

Canada's public sector enjoys a significant wage premium. That is, workers in the public sector are paid significantly more than comparable private sector workers.

Specifically, after accounting for differences in education and skills (and other factors that influence wages) public sector workers enjoy a wage premium of up to 38%.

The premium varies depending on occupation and industry. Those in retail (sales clerks, cashiers, supervisors) enjoy a 26% premium in the public sector. Those in management enjoy an 18% premium; child care and home support workers receive a 15% premium, while financial, secretarial and administrative occupations receive a 13% premium. Even chefs and cooks get 15% more in the public sector.

And that's just the wage premium. Factor in pension, health, and other benefits such as job security, and there's no wonder we're starting to see a growing backlash against public sector compensation.

So as you head off to work today, putting half your income away for the taxman, knowing you have to buy back-to-school clothes and supplies, pay your MSP tax, fill the tank with overtaxed gas, and all the other costs of running your family, please try to control your wage rage. There’s no point taking it out on your co-workers, friends, or family. Instead, demand that politicians bring these wages back into line.