It’s still a few weeks before the annual Sunshine List is published by the Ministry of Finance. We will be publishing the Rouge Valley Health System (RVHS) list on our website concurrently with the official release by the Ministry of Finance on March 31, 2011. Our list will also have comparative information dating back to 2007.
The number of professionals employed by RVHS — at its two hospital campuses and mental health sites — earning more than $100,000 a year has increased from 46 people in 2007 to 142 in 2010.
This is not surprising. Over the years, our list -- and that of all hospitals -- has grown to include more management and more union members in nursing and allied health professions.
The reason for this is not related to huge salary increases, but rather that the threshold figure of $100,000 has not been adjusted for inflation. It has remained at the 1996 level as set by the government at that time. Meanwhile, the inflation rate during the past 15 years has averaged about 2.5 per cent a year. Given inflationary increases, someone earning $71,000 in 1996, would now be earning $100,000. Put another way, earning $100,000 in 1996, is equivalent to making about $140,000 in 2010.
More and more unionized employees, who comprise the majority of employees at many hospitals, are now also the majority of those making more than the $100,000 threshold. In 2007, 17 per cent of our unionized employees were represented on the list. In 2010, the percentage of unionized staff earning over $100,000 increased to 58 per cent.
Most doctors, by the way, are not shown on our list because they are not hospital employees. Rather, doctors are independent contractors who bill the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) on a fee-for-service basis.
For more on the rationale of the Sunshine List, please visit the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s website at www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2011.