OTTAWA -- Despite their job security, generous salaries and benefits, federal workers take more than twice as many sick days as other Canadians.

The revelation comes from an internal Treasury Board report leaked to the CBC. Taking an average of 18 days of a year, federal workers' absenteeism reportedly costs taxpayers more than $1 billion annually.

"Sick leave is for when you're sick, period," Treasury Board president and MP Tony Clement said. "Private-sector workers are expected to perform to a certain level and absenteeism is not tolerated. Public-sector workers should be held to the same standard."

Union boss Gary Corbett says public-service employees deal with unique workplace challenges that can lead to "legitimate stress-related health issues."

"Thousands of these positions have been eliminated," he said. "There are funding changes, program changes and these are things that lead to uncertainty. Times are tough for everyone; there's no sense of entitlement here at all."

Clement expressed dismay at the wasted taxpayer dollars and said he would be looking at ways to empower the top levels of public-service leadership to better monitor how these sick days are being spent.

"Not all, but I'm sure some of these workers are taking all these sick days because they can," Clement said. "I see a certain sense of entitlement."

Most federal workers have about 15 sick days a year. Employees can't cash out the sick days they don't use, but can have them carry over to the next year.

Greg Thomas, federal director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, is outraged.

"This is a colossal rip off," he said. "That on any given day there are more federal workers off sick than all the employees at Ford and GM together, that's not right. They're treating this time off as if it is their property. Anyone who's worked in an operation knows how devastating it is to have people off."