Canada / 10,800 Public Servants jobs cut so far

Federal public servants whose jobs were cut because of the government’s budget reductions are leaving the workforce, and the majority of people whose jobs could disappear in the coming months have been put on notice, say public sector unions and the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Between April 1 and Sept. 30, federal departments and organizations have cut more than 10,800 posts, according to Treasury Board Secretariat. Of those, 7,500 positions were eliminated through attrition, meaning people either retired, quit, didn’t have their contracts renewed, or vacant positions still on the books were cut.

“Our government has taken strong actions to rein in the public service, while reducing the impact on employees through attrition, sun-setting term contracts and qualified placements to other positions,” said Beverly Young, spokesperson for Treasury Board President Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.).

The remaining 3,300 positions were cut by letting go of more than 2,000 workers, while about 1,000 affected people found work in other parts of the federal government when their original posts were cut.

Bob Kingston, national president of the Agriculture Union, said that people have already left Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection agency, though he did not have an estimate on how many people are gone.

“A lot of people will be leaving in January and over the next several months,” he added.

The two organizations employ more than 13,000 people between them. Treasury Board Secretariat has announced that the government would cut 1,144 workers from the portfolio, which includes the Dairy and Grain commissions too. So far an estimated 1,534 people have been told that their jobs could be affected, though not everyone who is declared affected will eventually be cut.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via So far, Treasury Board says 10,800 PS jobs cut, including 7,500 by attrition | hilltimes.com.