The wages of Ontario public service managers have been frozen – and premier Doug Ford has ordered a review of executive and management compensation.

A memo on the government website on the day Doug Ford was sworn in as premier says – pending pay adjustments for managers, executives and staff not covered by collective bargaining will be on hold “until the new government can put in place an expenditure management strategy.”

But merit pay for the current performance cycle will not be affected.

Ford had earlier put the public service under a hiring freeze, except for essential frontline staff such as police and corrections officers – and halted discretionary spending – such as newspaper subscriptions.

The Progressive Conservative leader campaigned on a promise of fiscal responsibility and vowed to find billions in efficiencies each year without cutting jobs. He has also pledged to launch a line-by-line audit of government spending to help eliminate waste.