Manitoba’s NDP Government released its Throne Speech today, which sets a blueprint for the upcoming Legislative Session and beyond. During this afternoon's speech, it was announced that government would be looking for future cost savings by cutting approximately 600 jobs through attrition (not filling job vacancies from retirements in government departments and other means) over the next few years.
This will have a significantly negative impact on the programs and services Manitoba families rely on and negatively affect the province’s economy.
“We’re disappointed and more than a little surprised this government would put programs and services in jeopardy by drastically cutting jobs when it has consistently pledged to protect front-line jobs and our economic growth,” said MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky. “Manitobans have every right to ask Premier Selinger: ‘what programs and services is he looking to cut and why would he endanger economic growth in this way?’”
The Manitoba Government has enjoyed stable economic growth in the past few years, partly because it has not cut jobs and implemented harmful austerity policies the way other jurisdictions in Canada have. But adherence to its own restrictive balanced budget legislation, which is the most Draconian in the country, leaves the Manitoba government in a position where it must cut jobs to meet its own self-imposed budget targets. The MGEU has long been recommending to government that they get rid of balanced budget legislation. According to Gawronsky, it often leads to a weakened economy and an erosion of programs and services that support families.
The federal government has taken a particularly aggressive approach to cutting civil service jobs, and in April, 2012, Manitoba Finance Minister Stan Struthers said this about Ottawa’s job cuts: ‘We don’t want to be going across the board with the kind of cuts we see there. We’re not going to take the Draconian, extreme, kind of approach that the Conservatives, either in Ottawa or here in Manitoba, seem to want us to take.”
Federal Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page has said restraint and reduction in government spending will act as a drag on economic growth and job creation, pushing the economy further away from its potential and delaying economic growth.
Today, however, we see the province reversing course and opting instead to follow Ottawa’s lead in cutting jobs for the short-term goal of meeting artificial balanced budget targets.
“What this really amounts to is short-term pain without the long-term gain,” Gawronsky said. “Those jobs will be gone in the short-term, and in the long-term we won’t have those people contributing to our economy. It’s not good economic policy. I think Manitobans support protecting, not eliminating, jobs and services and growing our economy.”
Unfortunately, here in Manitoba, the government is choosing a different path, and it is the individuals and families who rely on front-line services most who will be the most adversely affected by this government’s decision to cut jobs today.
Send Premier Selinger a Message
We’re asking for your help in letting Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger know that this will have a negative effect on public employees, the public who depend on the programs and services MGEU members provide, as well as our provincial economy.
Please send a message to the Premier, either by phone (204-945-3714) or via e-mail (premier@leg.gov.mb.ca) to let him know that the decision his government has made is unacceptable, and that there will be real consequences if this decision stands.
The Points You Might Make
1. When polled, Manitobans say they want their government to protect services.
The public has a stake in this. Manitoba families have been told, by this government, that it would act to protect programs and services, and the public has consistently supported this policy. The government has not been up front in saying which programs and services it believes can be reduced or eliminated. It has offered only a vague promise that it will cut jobs. Manitobans have a right to know where the Premier feels he can cut corners and not adversely affect Manitobans and their families.
2. You can’t keep cutting jobs without a negative effect on services.
It is hypocritical for Premier Selinger to say he’s committed to protecting front-line jobs and the programs and services Manitobans rely on, and then contravene his words by cutting those same jobs and services. Public employees are already being asked to do more with less, as vacancy management practices have more or less been in place for many years. The government has tried to cut costs by enticing public employees to use the voluntary reduced workweek, and all the while most government departments have seen their budgets reduced year after year. The MGEU and your civil service bargaining committee did negotiate a no lay-offs clause in the last contract, and this isn’t technically being contravened with Monday’s announcement. But what is alarming (for you and the public) is that we are continuing to see these kind of backdoor efforts to cut jobs and reduce services by the government.
3. Starving the Public Service is bad for the economy.
Job losses like the ones announced on Monday will also hit Manitobans hard in terms of our economy and future growth. These are quality jobs for people who will not be spending their wages here at home supporting our economy. If this was a major private company announcing it was laying off 600 employees, it would be a major news story and cause for considerable concern. Yet this decision is being treated like it’s the usual cost of doing business at the Manitoba Legislature. This government should get rid of Balanced Budget Legislation and should find other ways to raise revenue before cutting jobs and services.
The government is not acting in a way that supports Manitobans.The MGEU will continue to speak out about this decision and raise the matter in every way possible. Our hope is that you will do the same by sending a message to the Premier about his government’s decision to cut jobs and services.