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'Now is a good time for all civil service members — and all NSGEU members — to speak up about the vital importance of having enough workers to do the work.' - NSGEU.
Halifax (3 Sept. 2010) - Members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) rallied in front of courthouses in Halifax and Sydney to support the deputy sheriffs fighting to prevent dangerous cuts to their hours.
The two rallies — one outside of the Provincial Court on Spring Garden Road in Halifax and the other outside the Sydney Justice Centre on Charlotte Street — drew plenty of coverage in daily newspapers in both cities.
At both rallies, the deputy sheriffs and their fellow NSGEU members passed out pamphlets, stickers and ribbons, all in support of ongoing negotiations between the union and the government over the fate of 24 deputies facing dramatic cuts to their guaranteed hours and even layoffs.
Some deputies now find their futures so insecure that they are contemplating changing their careers altogether, a move that would turn their lives upside down while leaving the remaining deputies under even greater stress.
The deputies are seeking broad public support for the union's proposal to guarantee their hours through an innovative scheduling approach known as 'smoothing'. While this would restore respect and security to the 24 deputies whose hours have been cut, it would not address the underlying problem: that there often are not enough deputies to do the job safely.
"In an environment where the government has committed itself to cutting the ranks of the civil service by an arbitrary 10%, now is a good time for all civil service members — and all NSGEU members — to speak up about the vital importance of having enough workers to do the work," the union says.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
More information:
• Sept. 1 rallies to show support for deputy sheriffs
• NSGEU working to resolve deputy sheriff cutbacks
• NSGEU fighting any cuts to deputy sheriff services