Alberta's NDP Government has put a two year freeze on the wages of non-union provincial workers, saving taxpayers 28.5 million dollars a year.

"A good first step" is what it's being called by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Alberta Director Paige MacPherson says the NDP will now have to set their sights on unionized workers.

"Unfortunately the economic realities that we're facing right now call for meaningful spending cuts and not symbolic gestures. So while it is good that the government has clearly identified that wages and salaries of government sector employees are an area where we can make cuts, cuts are needed. Not just wage freezes. And not for just 3.5% of those employees."

Guy Smith, the President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says the freeze is a shot across the bow of Alberta's largest union as they get set for collective bargaining on several fronts over the next two years.