I understand the wage increase was due to a shortage but to call it a bonus is incorrect.
Technically it was a "market adjustment".
When community counterparts are making ~%20 more to start, the adjustment was required to entice pharmacists into the hospital.
You can call it anything you like, but that still doesn't change the fact that this was a temporary increase from the very beginning. We see similar situations arise in community wages for techs. Techs can be paid anywhere between $10-$14/hr to start while pharmacies located near a hospital must offer more to entice techs to work for them. In those cases, techs start at $18/hr or higher and that is still less than what a Hospital tech is paid.
This adjustment actually put the new grads closer to what can be made in the community and those with 6 years of experience, more than what community pharmacists make *IN THE LOWER MAINLAND*. Unfortunately with the union being BC wide, there is still a large difference between wages when you move North.
So, who should we compare our wages to? Across Canada? Even with the current wages, BC Pharmacists are a few percent under the national average, with this wage decrease, they will be >15% below national average.
Should we compare to our american counterpart - you don't want to see the differences.
I am aware there is a large difference. there is also a large difference in the amount of income tax taken by the US gov't.
Since this market adjustment was due to a shortage, if the shortage is gone, you would assume the market would adjust itself and wages to follow. So what definition of shortage would you use? I believe the minister noted the increase in # pharmacists, I can't find the exact number stated however I can tell you that an increase in number does not equal an increase in FTE's. Due to the shortage at the hospital I work at, we have only 2 full time pharmacists at the moment.
Maternity leaves (female dominated profession now) and retirement (~20% of pharmacists are in the retirement window), leaves staff shortages. Yes, jobs are posted. No these jobs are not filled. It has been noted that >50 clinical pharmacist jobs are posted in BC, the only applicants at the hospital I work at are unqualified for the position.
Is there still a shortage?
I think what you may be forgetting here is the role of technician regulation. The number of pharmacist positions (especially in community, of course) will decrease. Guaranteed.
IIRC, back in 2004, UBC accepted 125 students into the Pharmacy program. I haven't looked up the number for current numbers but I'm told it's around 200-225 students being accepted. That's nearly double the amount of graduates compared to just 8 years ago. UBC doesn't care if you get a job, their business is to pump out as many graduates as they can handle.
In my opinion, this is part of the problem. The minister would of course look at these numbers and conclude (however incorrect they may be, as you pointed out) that the shortage is over. Add to that the fact that RPT's will be taking many Pharmacist positions in the community, and you can see why the shortage no longer seems to exist.
I can't speak for your hospital, but for the one I work at, positions are filled on average between 1-4 weeks. Even clinical positions.
It was discussed this wage decrease will save the government $8 million per year. I suppose it is up to you to decide if this is negligible to the >$62 billion budget. It is all relative and we pay a price to live in BC, but the idea is to get people informed about this and understand the value of pharmacists. I do note that there is
very minimal claimed overtime by pharmacists and when someone calls in sick, there is no replacement (like physicians). Pharmacists are encouraged to claim overtime to show the financial impact of our extra work. Suffice to say that the impact is large.
I am aware that many Pharmacists refuse to claim overtime. It's done in good nature but also in fear that it won't be accepted by their employers. IMO, this is totally wrong! If you work extra, you should be paid accordingly. And to answer your previous point, the gov't doesn't care how insignificant a number may seem to the employees. Their bottom line is what's most important to them and they are willing to cut costs anywhere they can.
If you are interested in the actual wages made by pharmacists
(no, they do not make $80/hr), you are welcome to view it here:
Health Sciences Association of BC :: Health science professionals
I never made such a claim... not sure where that came from.
Anyways, I do not mean to attack your post, but explain where I come from on the issue. Many posts/people/comments like this wage roll back to a patient on insulin wrt their blood sugar. When you give insulin (wages), the diabetic is fine, so naturally you may assume you can withdrawal insulin (like in cats), but the diabetic patient still has diabetes and will soon have complications.