The contract would cover management services, maintenance and repair and janitorial services for army installations in western Canada, including 10 training areas and 17 armouries.
But the proposed contract, to run from 2013 to 2018, has union leaders angry and accusing the Conservative government and DND of using the public service layoffs as a guise for privatizing more federal jobs.
“We were told that those jobs were not needed and those people wouldn’t be replaced,” said John MacLennan, national president of the Union of National Defence Employees, which represents 19,000 workers. “The government’s program was supposedly all about saving money so how do you save money when you cut jobs and then turn around and spend $100 million to hire companies to do the same work?”
The Conservative government’s plan will see the closure of the military support units in Chilliwack, BC and Calgary, according to the Sept. 6 briefing note prepared for Brig.-Gen. J.C.G. Juneau, commander of Land Force Western Area. But that will have a significant impact on the military installations those two locations support, the note pointed out.
“The closure of Area Support Unit (ASU) Chilliwack and ASU Calgary has severely limited the capability to sustain the infrastructure currently supported by those units,” Juneau was told.
The Chilliwack unit is responsible for 12 armouries, nine training areas, one cadet camp, one naval reserve and three other buildings. The Calgary unit is responsible for five armouries, one training area, one naval reserve, a cadet camp, a military museum and two other buildings.
Public service staff assigned to the Chilliwack and Calgary units, along with some contractors, are responsible for managing, maintaining, cleaning, and repairing the facilities.
“Status quo is not a viable option for facility support once the ASUs are closed due to the lack of manpower to support the operations of the facilities,” the briefing note points out.
The army wants the contract with a private firm in place by April 1, according to the briefing note. To meet that date it must be awarded by Dec. 15 to ensure the company winning the contract has enough time to hire personnel. “The process is currently on schedule to meet these target dates but there is little flexibility,” Juneau was told.
Major Lena Angell of Land Forces Western Area stated in an email that the job reductions would not affect the army’s ability to deliver on its core missions. “The reduction of certain positions will inevitably have an impact, but one that is assessed as manageable,” the email noted. “As such, we are still in the process of analyzing the impact of these reductions to determine the capabilities gaps. Once this analysis is completed, Spring 2013, we will then be in a strong position to determine what changes are required, with changes to current levels of contracting as one possible option.”
More than 1,500 DND workers have been given notices that their jobs are in jeopardy or are being eliminated, and the union expects more notices to follow. The jobs being eliminated range from clerks and secretaries to food services and kitchen staff. Other jobs being cut include janitors, radiation safety personnel, weapons technicians, ammunition technicians, heavy truck mechanics, laboratory assistants and drivers.
The union has been given varying details from DND on how many jobs in western Canada will be lost. One figure puts that at 191 positions while another is 188. The union has been trying to get accurate figures from DND about the numbers of jobs being eliminated but without success, MacLennan said.
The move to contract out the positions of public servants whose jobs were eliminated shows that DND is not dealing fairly with its workers and has been hiding the real motives behind the job cuts, he argues.
MacLennan has also questioned how money is being actually saved since DND is targeting some of the lowest paid workers in the public service, such as those in food services as well as cleaners and secretaries. The work being done by public servants would not go away, he added.
The Conservative government plans to cut 19,200 public servants from the federal payroll over the next three years. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said the reductions, which will come primarily from “back-office operations,” are “common sense” changes that will improve the efficiency and productivity of Canada’s 400,000-strong public service.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: DAVID PUGLIESE
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