The “no mass layoff” clause for public sector workers continues for another two years with the tentative agreement between NAPE and the provincial government.
The agreement is a two-year extension to the original agreement between the two parties that was ratified just last year.
The “no mass layoff” clause was supposed to expire with the old agreement, but Finance Minister Tom Osborne says where it’s an extension of the agreement, all conditions are also extended.
But, he says the clause will die with the new agreement in two-years time.
Osborne says with the clause there was a misconception that there could be no layoffs at all. But that’s not the case. He says there couldn’t be mass layoffs, but they could still lay off individuals and have in some agencies and within core government.
Osborne claims they’ve had great success and are continuing on with their attrition plan for another two-years to coincide with the agreement.
According to Osborne, the number of positions in government has been reduced from over 49,000 to less than 48,000. At this particular time, and for the next two years, Osborne says with certainty that attrition is the proper way to deal with public sector reductions.
Meanwhile, PC Leader Ches Crosbie says it’s hard to comment on the agreement without seeing the details, but it’s always good to have labour peace.
Crosbie says it’s hard to evaluate what the deal does within the context of the “fiscal envelope” the government is working within.
Crosbie points the finger at government who says they need to find some $617-million in order to balance the books. He says Osborne keeps saying he has an “open door” policy, but he needs an “open books” policy if he wants true collaboration.