Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy said today that, to date, 167 individuals in the public service have been advised their positions have been eliminated.
In a news release Kennedy notes that while bumping may occur in the coming weeks among bargaining unit employees, there will be no further layoffs until after Budget 2013.
“In order to ensure that employees are provided the necessary supports and services that they deserve, notifying employees of their positions being eliminated has taken time,” Kennedy said. “Each employee is advised in person through a meeting with human resource staff. This process cannot be rushed and as a result can take multiple days. It is important that our human resource policies are followed and that employees are treated in a professional and respectful manner.”
In individual meetings, human resource staff advise employees of their employment status. Employees are offered employee assistance counselling and other support mechanisms, and are provided an opportunity to ask questions.
Given a limited number of human resources staff and to ensure all employees are given the time they deserve, the process takes time, the release states.
“With salaries and employee benefits making up approximately 55 per cent of the provincial government’s total expenditures and are as high as 70 per cent in some departments, it is impossible to reduce costs without impacting employees,” Kennedy said.
Initiatives such as the temporary suspension of recruitment activities and a modest retirement incentive are measures introduced to help mitigate impact on the public service. There are approximately 9,000 employees in the core public service.
Wrong savings The fact you believe govt pays takes is exactly why I term most govt works dead weight. If ones pay comes from taxes it means their taxes don't count it just means they are not making the money they think they are. Example an apple employee produces a product and all the money is generated from this product is from the private sector . A govt workers salary is the taxes of the apple employee, so if the govt employee payes taxes he is only taking some of the apple tax payers money and recycling it to another dead weight employee. If we were to reduce govt than that applee employee would have more money to spend on items which would employ more productive people with real jobs as oppose to hiring morean having regulator who are killing the economy. Just another union paided by the tax payer.