Budget squeeze on departments prompts request for special talks

The union has requested special talks with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board around the effects of the recent budget on federal departments. With budget freezes in place, the union is calling for discussions on critical issues such as workload.

All CEIU members, whether they work at HRSDC/Service Canada, CIC or the IRB, will face the consequences of the Tories’ 2010 budget. In her letter to the heads of all three, CEIU National President stated:

I am writing in connection with the recent federal budget which will have a major impact on departmental budgets from 2010 to 2013. In 2010-11, there will be no increase to fund a negotiated wage increase of 1.5%, leaving departments to cover this improvement within the remainder of their operating budgets. For 2011-12 and 2012-13, operating budgets will be frozen at 2011 levels.

The effects of this budget have the potential to affect the members of our union in significant ways. Workloads are already high, and with fewer resources they will climb even higher. Our members are determined to provide quality services to the Canadian public, but the conditions under which they work will become more challenging. In these circumstances I believe it is urgent that we meet to discuss how the constraints introduced by the budget will be implemented within the operations of the department.

“The way budget restrictions are implemented will have a direct effect on our members and the public,” according to National President Jeannette Meunier-McKay, “and we need to have serious discussions to ensure that both members and services to the public are protected.”