Labour Day is a nice break, but it’s also a reflection on hard-fought victories for the province’s largest labour union.

NAPE President Jerry Earle says for him, Labour Day is time to remember successes like weekends off, or more recently domestic leave, but also to remember why union representation remains vital today.

Earle says layoffs are always a concern for the public sector, and at times when the economy is down, front line employees get hit first.

He says they make no apologies for fighting cuts to the public service, saying NAPE members were not the ones to get the province into this financial situation, nor to make Muskrat Falls, so there’s no reason they should have to be the ones to pay for it.