To deal with the growing problem, army commander Lt.-Gen. Peter Devlin proposed contracting out the work to private companies but the Union of National Defence employees, which represents civilian mechanics being laid off because of government cutbacks, opposes such a move.
The influx of new vehicles and the lack of trained staff have put “a severe strain on the Army’s ability to adequately maintain our equipment, support training and prepare for operations,” Devlin warned in an April letter to Dan Ross, the Defence Department’s assistant deputy minister for materiel.
Asked to comment, the army issued an email to the Citizen noting that it is not facing problems with vehicle technicians. “The Canadian Army has been heavily recruiting technicians for several years and there are sufficient technicians to support the Army over the longer term,” the email stated. “In fact, it is expected that that all positions will be fully manned by 2014.”
But that is not what Devlin was warning behind the scenes. The army is facing shortfalls in such technicians at bases across the country that will continue until 2017, he pointed out. At Canadian Forces Base Petawawa there are 264 technicians but there will be a shortfall of 71 personnel for those jobs next year alone, according to the material Devlin sent to Ross.
In 2014-2015 there is expected to be a shortage of 57 vehicle technicians at Petawawa. Other bases in Edmonton and Valcartier will have to deal with similar shortages.
“The availability of productive Vehicle Technicians will remain below full capacity for the next several years at the key productive ranks of Corporal and Private,” Devlin wrote.
The problem is compounded by the arrival of 3,700 new vehicles in the next several years, ranging from trucks to armoured personnel carriers to tanks. The army has to also take out of service large numbers of vehicles, which will increase the workload of the vehicle technicians, Devlin noted.
The army commander was writing Ross to ask that a private firm be hired to do the work.
John MacLennan, the head of the Union of National Defence Employees, said the army brought in private contractors to handle some of the work starting in 2010 because many of its military vehicle technicians were in Afghanistan.
That was supposed to be a temporary solution and it was supported by the union because of the war that was ongoing, he said.
But the army now wants to extend the use of private contractors until 2017, MacLennan said.
At the same time, civilian public service vehicle technicians have received notices that their jobs are in jeopardy because of government cutbacks, he added. “We told them (the army) that have surplus civilian vehicle techs and have given them affected letters so why don’t they employ those people or give them a job offer before they put out a contract to any company?” said MacLennan.
“I see this as another chapter to disguising the contracting out of public service jobs,” he added.
Last month the union accused the army of trying to contract out the jobs of civilian public servants who could be laid off in western Canada. That contract could cover management services, maintenance and repair and janitorial services for army installations in the west, including 10 training areas and 17 armouries.
Army officials said they were considering a variety of options, including contracting out, but that no decision had been made.
Devlin’s letter to Ross points out that many of the army’s vehicle technicians are still in training and while the situation is improving it will be several years before things stabilize.
In June the Conservative government awarded the $600 million contract for new Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles, known as TAPVs, to a subsidiary of U.S. defence giant Textron. First deliveries of the TAPVs are expected in 2014, according to DND. The fleet will be fully operational in 2016.
Second-hand tanks have also been purchased and in the coming years new trucks and additional armoured vehicles will be bought.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: David Pugliese
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