Time to end AHS executive bonuses
Edmonton – Official Opposition Health Critic Kevin Taft says bonuses at Alberta Health Services should come to an end.
Recent documents show Alberta Health Services (AHS) handed out nearly $1 million in bonuses during the 09/10 fiscal year. Overall, nearly $6 million in compensation was doled out to AHS executives.
Taft is continuing his long standing call for the Tory administration to abolish this wasteful practice. “While many Albertans have lost jobs and are struggling to make ends meet, Ed Stelmach and Gene Zwozdesky are paying AHS executives bonuses up to three times the annual salary of a typical Albertan,” Taft says. “That’s appalling.”
During the spring session of the Legislature, Taft released secret AHS letters that show bonuses for 08/09 were granted despite an admission that performance measures were difficult to assess.
“How can you hand out five- and six-figure bonuses when you can’t even measure performance?” says Taft.
These latest documents show the 09/10 bonuses ranged from $14,000 to $139,000. Some of these executives make salaries just under $600,000 a year. In the past the Premier and Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky have defended these bonuses by saying we need better incentives to draw quality people to Alberta.
Taft wholly rejects that claim. “As I’ve said before, AHS executives who are already earning generous six-figure salaries shouldn’t need additional incentives to do their jobs, especially when most public servants are facing wage freezes.”
Taft thinks it’s especially ironic that huge bonuses are being given to senior officials when AHS’ own workforce engagement survey shows that only ten percent of physicians have trust and confidence that AHS can achieve its goals.
Taft also warned that the current bonus structure can easily distort decision-making, favouring short-term solutions over long-term planning.
“Medical decisions about resource allocation should not be tainted by the prospect of bonuses,” Taft says. “People inside the system are telling me that some crucial services are getting short-changed because resources are being put into areas that will ensure executives get their bonuses. That’s not fair to Albertans, and it’s not good for our public health care system in the long term.”
Taft says it’s high time the Premier did his job as leader, and put and end to this nonsense, “We need to stop this wasteful practice now. A Liberal government wouldn’t allow this to happen.”
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