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St. John's (19 May 2021) — On May 6, Moya Greene, Chair of the Premier’s Economic Recovery Team (PERT) released her report The Big Reset.
The government created an Economic Recovery Team to assist it in making decisions regarding the province's financial situation. Dame Moya Greene was appointed to head the team. Greene is a Canadian business woman well known for her work in privatizing CN railway, the deregulation of the Canadian airline industry and her work at Canada Post. She moved from Canada to the UK where she took the job of privatizing Britain's Royal Mail. In 2010, she was the highest paid UK Civil Servant on a salary of £498,000. Her appointment to Newfoundland and Labrador's economic recovery team signaled a hard turn toward austerity measures for the province.
NAPE/NUPGE analysis: cuts to public services, privatization and job loss
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE) has been analyzing the contents to determine the impact of the recommendations on public services and members. If implemented in full, the recommendations would have a profoundly negative impact on workers, the goods and services they provide, and the province as a whole — socially and economically.
NAPE/NUPGE has been raising these issues publicly and in meetings with government representatives. While the process for consultation has not been announced, the union will continue to educate and inform members and the public of the costs involved if these changes were to be implemented.
Red flags in the Greene Report has been prepared to help shed light on the issues.
Direct threats to public services and public service workers
Job loss: the report suggests reducing the work force in health care, long-term care, colleges and universities and government agencies by a minimum of 20%, or upwards of 6,940 members.
Privatization of NLC and Registries (motor vehicle, deeds, lands, etc.): the privatization also creates the potential loss of a considerable number of jobs
Concessions: by reducing funding in key public sectors, it's expected the government will be demanding concessions during collective bargaining in the areas of wages, benefits, and pensions.
Alternative service delivery: the introduction of third-party providers/agencies and the sell-off of public services will potentially lead to the loss of jobs, the non-renewal of collective agreements, and a push for concessions in collective bargaining.
Balanced budget legislation: this type of legisation is a poison pill that freezes the growth of public sector employment, freezes wage and benefit improvements. And, during economic downturns, it is used for major cutbacks of public sector services and employment, as well as the legislative withdrawal of collective bargaining rights for public sector workers.
Recommendations will negatively impact the province for years
If the government follows Greene's recommendations, the province will see a continuation of public debt and deficits as a result of the privatization of NLC, registries, NALCOR and hydro projects. This will certainly occur if the government fails to secure higher corporate taxes and royalties that could provide hundreds of millions of dollars in long-term revenue, ignoring much-needed revenue required to fund public services.
These recommendatons will result in long-term problems for public services due to the lack of funding to maintain quality services and job continuity. As quality declines as a result of the lack of investment, it provides an excuse to the government to further privatize in order to increase the profits of private corporations.
Currently, Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the highest rates of union density in the country. The collective strength of workers resulted in significant gains for all workers in the province, which in turn provide an influx in revenue for communities across the province. If implemented, the use of legislation to override collective bargaining, coupled with cuts, closures, and privatization would have a devastating impact on working-class people and their families.
Find out more in Red Flags in Greene Report.