The B.C. government is offering staff who volunteer for the Olympics free vacation time.
Staff who apply and are accepted to the volunteer program for 2010 will then have to submit vacation requests to their employers the same way they would submit a regular vacation request.
But for every one vacation day they use, they will receive one free vacation day from their employer.
Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen, the minister in charge of the games, defended the decision to reporters on Thursday.
"Many large employers in Vancouver will in fact be providing time off for their employees to be active in the Olympic games," he said. "The government needs to ensure it is a magnet for new staff," he said. "It needs to be a desirable place to work."
ICBC told CTV News they are providing no such initiative to employees. The B.C. Teachers Federation and B.C. Hydro have not yet returned calls for comment.
Hansen said the government is encouraging staff to apply for volunteer positions, but only those accepted as volunteers will then be eligible to use their employer's free vacation time. He expects the total number of employees that will participate in the program to be between 200 and 300.
"There will be no increased cost to the government," he said. "Ministries are not going to receive extra funding for the wages and benefits, so it is up to the employer and supervisor before they approve that time off."
Hansen insisted there is no 'incremental' cost to taxpayers for such a program, adding the government supports the same initiative for the upcoming Indigenous Games in the Cowichan Valley
NDP critic Harry Bains told CTV News the government is misleading the public.
"We need to be clear - this isn't a volunteer program," he said. "This is paid work and the government should call it paid work - and they should count this as an Olympic cost."
The NDP government used a similar program during the Commonwealth Games in 1994.
