Union predicts more ACOA job cuts
Posted Oct 21, 2011 10:54:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The union representing workers at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is concerned more layoffs will be announced in the next budget year.
The federal government has announced between 42 and 80 jobs at ACOA are being eliminated as part of an effort to trim $15.2 million from its budget.
The president of the Professional Institute of the Public Services of Canada (PIPSC) said this may just be the first round of layoffs.
“The cuts are from last year. They’re not cuts that are going to come as a result of a review plan that’s being planned by Flaherty in a new budget process,” said Gary Corbett, referring to the federal Finance Minister. “So, we do expect there will be more cuts online.”
The federal government has asked all of its departments to review their budgets and present plans to reflect five per cent and 10 per cent cuts.
“ACOA is not immune to that,” Corbett told News 95.7 during a news conference Friday. “That will be in the next budget, so we do expect that there will be more of this.”
The union is urging the government to reverse its decision, which is said to affect 12 positions in Moncton, as many as five in Nova Scotia and five in Ottawa.
PIPSC said the people affected are account managers, economic development officers, network administrators and client support staff in the areas of community development and enterprise development.
Alternatively, Corbett said he wants the union to mitigate the job losses.
“The employer has an obligation to consult with us,” he said. “What we’re asking is that the employer will consult with us on how it moves forward with these cuts. We can work with our representatives, with our people, to say ‘well, this person is ready to go.’ We’ll work with the employer to make sure that these cuts have as minimal an impact as possible, if they have to happen.”
