Almost 10,000 federal public servants have received notices in the past week warning them that their jobs may be cut, say the unions representing them.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada said more than 5,000 of its members received “workforce adjustment notices” this week.
They include 1,172 workers at Global Affairs Canada, 775 workers at Transport Canada, 598 workers at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and 895 workers at Health Canada.
Notices were also issued to staff at other federal departments, including Public Safety Canada, Canadian Heritage and Immigration, and Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Workforce adjustment notices tell employees their jobs may be affected by cuts. It’s not clear how many of those who received the notices will ultimately be laid off.
“Public services aren’t just a budget line — they’re a lifeline for communities and families,” Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Sharon DeSousa said in a news release. “While the government’s planned cuts may appear to save money, make no mistake, we all pay the price through slower services, longer waits and weaker programs.”
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees said roughly 2,550 of its members received notices this week, including 534 employees at Employment and Social Development Canada and 103 people at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada said more than 2,700 of its members received notices this week.
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The union is warning that cuts to science-based departments will weaken Canada’s ability to prevent disasters, respond to emergencies and protect public safety and the environment.
“These are not abstract programs or administrative red tape,” said Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada president Sean O’Reilly. “These are the experts who prevent oil spills from becoming catastrophes, who ensure dangerous goods don’t explode on our railways, who make sure Canadians can trust weather warnings, and who protect species from extinction.
“Cutting this scientific expertise puts public safety and the environment at risk.”
Ottawa is looking to cut program spending and administration costs by about $60 billion over the next five years through its “comprehensive expenditure review.”
The latest federal budget said the exercise will involve “restructuring operations and consolidating internal services.” It said it also will deploy workforce adjustments and attrition to return the size of the public service to “a more sustainable level.”
The government plans to cut the number of public service jobs by about 40,000 from a peak of 368,000 in 2023-24.
The plan will see a reduction of 1,000 executive positions over the next two years, and a 20 per cent cut to spending on management and consulting services over three years.
The federal government has sent letters with information on its planned early retirement program to almost 68,000 public servants who may be eligible.
The government said it’s trying to boost the rate of attrition and avoid cutting younger workers by offering a voluntary program allowing workers to retire earlier without incurring a pension penalty.
The federal budget said the government intends to implement the one-year early retirement program as soon as this month.
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