THE Public Service Alliance of Canada is raising serious concerns about the federal government’s plans to reduce government spending by cutting public service jobs delivering critical services to regular people.
It says that without prior consultation, the government unilaterally announced their plans to cut costs across the federal public service during a briefing with unions on the Refocusing Government Spending Initiative November 7.
“We’ve seen this horror movie before –– and it always ends badly for families across the country,” said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President, on Thursday. “Make no mistake ––– everyday people always pay the price when public services are cut.”
The 2023 budget outlined $15 billion in cuts to programs and services over the next four years, with another $3 billion in spending reductions announced in last year’s Fall Economic Statement.
“The last time we saw blanket public service cuts under the Harper government, there were grave impacts to the services Canada depends on – from food inspection to border security and employment insurance,” said DeSousa. “With so many families struggling today, this is not the time to claw back critical programs and cut jobs.”
When the cuts were first announced in 2022, Mona Fortier, the Treasury Board President at the time, said the government would find $6 billion in savings by increasing remote work and selling off real estate.
Last year, Treasury Board President Anita Anand promised workers wouldn’t be asked to do more with less and that there would be no job losses. Then we heard that 5,000 jobs would be reduced through natural attrition.
The PSAC said that today, we heard a very different story. The government is now widening the net, looking to cut term and casual employees, and opening the door for departments to slash permanent employees through Workforce Adjustment.
Federal departments have been assigned specific budget reduction targets in salary line items. The PSAC is insisting that unions must be consulted while these targets are reviewed. These targets, protected under Cabinet privilege, will remain confidential until they are made public in June 2025.
“Workers and families are waiting in limbo. People who benefit from critical programs won’t know if the services they depend on will be cut.” said DeSousa. “Public service workers won’t know if they’ll have jobs by next summer – if they can renew their mortgage, start a family or pay their student loans.”
Government savings should not fall on the backs of workers and the services they deliver to regular people.
The government should instead go after the billions they’re wasting on contracting out public services and the massive savings remote work offers for Canada’s public service.
“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t find billions in cuts without slashing the important services people depend on,” said DeSousa. “PSAC will be fighting back against these public service cuts and protecting workers caught in the crossfire.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is one of Canada’s largest unions, representing nearly 230,000 workers in every province and territory in Canada, including more than 180,000 federal public service workers.
