Updated: Thu Nov. 05 2009 4:42:48 PM

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Public sector unions are warning Premier Dalton McGuinty not to try forcing their members to bear the brunt of the costs of eliminating Ontario's record $24.7 billion deficit.

On Thursday, McGuinty suggested the government was looking at unpaid days off for nurses, teachers and other public sector workers to help eliminate the deficit, and said they had been "sheltered" from the worst effects of the global recession so far.

"We don't agree with that assessment at all," said Randy Robinson of the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union, which represents 125,000 workers, including 45,000 direct civil servants.

"Mr. McGuinty has suggested that he's the guy who will make the tough decisions and the tough decision he'll make is to make public employees pay," said Robinson.

"Actually, that's the easy decision. The real tough decision that he doesn't want to make, and he seems afraid to grapple with, is the notion that everybody in the province has a responsibility to deal with this crisis."

The fairest way to do that, said Robinson, is to impose a small income tax increase on everyone.

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario also disagreed that nurses had been "sheltered" from the impacts of the global recession, and said the province should consider running a deficit longer than planned rather than cutting public services.

"If we start to shrink even more the hours of patient care, we will pay both in complications which will keep patients in hospital longer, and we will pay with more sick time for nurses, which leads to more overtime and absenteeism," said RNAO executive director Doris Grinspun.

Nurses have been treated more respectfully under the Liberals than the previous Conservative government of Mike Harris, who once compared them with anachronistic hula hoops, added Grinspun, who said she wasn't surprised McGuinty singled out nurses and teachers.

"These are two groups that he has put a lot of energy in helping to recover from the mess that the previous government created," she said.

"But he will be naive to think that that's a good policy initiative."

McGuinty's musings could send the wrong message to nursing graduates, especially when the United States is facing a severe shortage of registered nurses, added Grinspun.

"All he needs to do is send this type of signal and the new grads will move south again," she warned.

"How smart is that from a taxpayers' perspective?"

Both OPSEU and RNAO said they agreed the public sector had a role to play in helping eliminate the deficit, and both unions promised to work with the government on the issue.

"Public employees are willing to pay their share, if the entire economy is paying its share as well," said Robinson.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said Thursday he would soon start talks with public sector unions on how to eliminate the deficit.

However, Duncan said it was too early to talk about so-called Dalton Days, unpaid days off similar to the hugely unpopular "Rae Days" proposed by NDP premier Bob Rae in his 1993 social contract.

"We do have to get back to balance over a period of time and look at every aspect of government, including wages and benefits," he said.

"Once we've had a chance to make a good assessment of things we will have clear announcements in the budget next year."

The New Democrats said the government should abandon its plan for corporate tax cuts rather than trying to balance its books on the backs of public servants.