Ontario out to make workers scapegoats for deficit

OPSEU president prepares members to fight unpaid days off and massive privatization in wake of $24.7 billion deficit announcement.

Toronto (27 Oct. 2009) - The Ontario government is planning to make public employees scapegoats for the province's massive $24.7 billion deficit, warns the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).

"The wounded global economy (has come) home to roost at Queen’s Park," says OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "It’s a big number. It has big consequences for every OPSEU member.... The Liberals plan to make us pay."

As well, privatization is now 'a spectre' than hangs over every public service worker, Thomas adds.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan served notice of a 'sweeping review' of government spending when he announced the deficit number and Premier Dalton McGuinty has said there may be a return to unpaid days off for public workers - not seen since the early 1990s.

Thomas says the deficit is clearly  big - about $1,900 for every person living in Ontario - but the question that must be faced is, "Who is going to pay?"

"Dwight Duncan won’t have much luck looking for waste in public services (except, of course, for the hundreds of millions he’s throwing away on private consultants)," Thomas said.

"We already had a 'sweeping review' from 1995 to 2003. It was called the Common Sense Revolution and public services still haven’t recovered from the brutal trauma of those years," he noted.

"As far as unpaid days off, a lot of us remember Bob Rae’s 'Social Contract' all too well. But much has changed since the Rae days."

Thomas says the Ontario government of today cannot simply legislate workers to take unpaid days off because of Supreme Court rulings in recent years affecting legal collective agreements and collective bargaining rights.

This leaves the province with two options, he added, privatization and mass layoffs.

"Privatization is a stupid idea. It cuts services, it destroys jobs and it usually comes with major cost overruns," he argued.

"And from a budget standpoint, selling off assets like the LCBO – which right-wingers are already barking for – would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

"As for more layoffs, they can only weaken local economies, destroy the services people need and generate headlines the Liberals really don’t want to see.

"So what’s their plan?" Thomas asks.

"My guess is, they think that just the threat of layoffs and privatization will force public employees to agree to the wage cuts or 'Dalton Days' he wants. In other words, it’s a New Social Contract," he adds.

Thomas' full statement is available on the OPSEU web site at this address.

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:
OPSEU president's message: fighting the coming attack