Union continues battle over staff reductions at Service Canada

The recent announcement of further term staff reductions at Service Canada is the latest chapter in the ongoing battle over both the fair treatment for terms and the workload issues facing the staff who remain. The loss of 600 more jobs will hurt the EI processing capacity of Service Canada at a time when the economy is not yet on a strong path to recovery.

Term staff learned of the latest round of cuts through the media, an insensitive and impersonal way to receive this news. The story originated through a leak to a reporter from within HRSDC, and only when approached by the media for a comment on the upcoming cuts was CEIU able obtain a briefing by the department. CEIU regrets that affected members learned of their job loss through the media, but once the HRSDC leak put the story in motion, it could not be stopped.

Many terms hired at Service Canada have part, or all, of their employment falling under the “sunset” provisions of the Term Employment Policy. CEIU has opposed this from the outset because it is an inappropriate use of the Term Employment Policy and because periods of service as a “sunset term” do not count toward the three years needed to become an indeterminate employee.

The union is continuing its efforts against the use of the sunset provisions and, in addition, is asking any term staff facing termination that were hired prior to the economic downturn (and who thus may be approaching their third anniversary of employment) contact the union for assistance.

The latest cuts mean slower service to EI claimants and greater workloads for our members who remain in the workplace. The public that relies on the services provided by our members are some of the most vulnerable in Canadian society, and we are calling on the Harper government to reverse the cuts to these much-needed resources.