Number of Provincial civil servants drops
Oct 11, 2013
Civil Service, Mantioba Government, mgeu, Provicial Employees
The latest report from The Civil Service Commission confirms what the MGEU and its members have been saying for quite a while now: the total number of provincial employees has dropped.Last year, 167 jobs were cut (mainly by eliminating vacant positions) from government departments. This excludes the roughly 130 positions outsourced through the privatization of the Property Registry.
MGEU members are doing more with less; increasingly, the services Manitobans depend upon will be impacted. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s population is growing every year, adding to the workloads in many key departments.
Family Services, for instance, saw one of the biggest staffing drops with the loss of 74 jobs. These cuts are taking place despite the fact that nearly 10,000 children are in Provincial care (the highest number per capita of any province).
Road repairs and snow clearing will also feel the brunt of the cuts as 77 jobs were cut from the Infrastructure and Transportation Department, although the Province has indicated a huge investment in infrastructure projects.
The department of Conservation and Water Stewardship saw 48 positions cut, leaving fewer people to keep our campgrounds clean and safe, and to manage our natural areas.
These departmental cuts are consistent with the message the MGEU has received from members this past year – the same message which kick-started the union’s Elephant Talk campaign this spring.
Justice was one of the few departments with a staffing increase. Considering the ballooning inmate population and the backlog in the court system, these increases are much needed.
Overall, this trend is not a good sign for most Manitobans who said maintaining or improving public services was their top priority in a January 2013 poll. The 300 jobs that have been eliminated in the last year bring the government halfway to their goal of cutting 600 jobs. And while it’s rather simple to quantify how many positions have been lost and where, the more difficult task is to determine just how that will affect the quality of public services in this province.
View full report (pdf)
View number of provincial civil servants by department chart (pdf)
Comments
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This is concerning. Unfortunately this part of international trend that will continue. I expect "restructuring" pensions will eventually be on the agenda. I would think this will intesify with the PCs in power. Is there a committee to join? I would like to be proactive. Thank you for ths.
Brent - 2013-10-12 08:20
As a member of the transportation division, I am very upset the way we never get the proper attention when it come to wage increases. The cost of living here up north has increased by almost 30% in the past year alone. But yet when it come to our contract talks, there is no money left for us. If the next contract does not respect what we do, I for one will be looking at other employment. I just can not make it on this small wage with the cost of living going up all the time. I have been with this government for going on 25 years, and I feel like our government and this union just does not care about us.
Anonymous - 2013-10-12 11:34
Hi Brent, If you're wanting to affect change in your workplace, the place to start is to get elected as a workplace rep - the union also refers to this as getting more "active" in your union. Check out this page to see what's involved: http://www.mgeu.ca/for-members/become-an-mgeu-activist
Site Admin - 2013-10-15 11:42