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Toronto (07 Nov. 2014) — Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) who work in information technology across the province gathered at Queen’s Park on October 27 to tell MPPs to end the privatization of government IT services.
Workers tell provincial government its privatization of IT services has led to reduced service quality, increased cost and the loss of good jobs
Their message attracted a lot of influential politicians. Throughout the morning more than 40 MPPs attended the event including 14 from the NDP, 12 Progressive Conservatives and 17 Liberals. The Liberal attendees included four cabinet ministers and the government’s deputy house leader.
More than 75 people packed a committee room to speak with the IT professionals and listen to presentations describing how the privatization of government IT services has led to reduced service quality, increased cost, and the elimination of good jobs.
The 16 IT professionals came from different ministries and work locations in Ottawa, Guelph, Sudbury, and Toronto. The IT workers were joined by
- OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas
- Executive Board Member for Region 5 Edie Strachan
- Central/Unified Bargaining Team Chair Roxanne Barnes
- Bargaining Team members Mickey Riccardi, Elaine Young, John Berry, Dennis Wilson, Glenna Caldwell, Dylan Lineger and Tim Elphick.
Lending their support and solidarity to the lobby were leaders from the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO): President Gary Gannage, Vice-President Sally Pardaens, Treasurer Dave Bulmer and Secretary Barbara Gough.
Government is wasting money on vendors and consultants rather than investing in its own in-house professional IT staff
Both unions made it clear that it is time for the government to stop wasting money on vendors and consultants and to invest in developing its internal capacity by usingthe more than 3,600 unionized IT professionals it employs in-house.
“The government is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars annually on IT services provided by private sector vendors and consultants,” said Thomas. “We are here today to provide real evidence that private sector service delivery doesn’t work. Government IT professionals are more efficient, cost less, and have the knowledge and expertise needed to deliver the quality service OPS employees rely on to do their jobs.”
Additionally, the NDP showed their support by taking OPSEU/NUPGE's concerns directly to the floor of the legislature. During question period, the NDP’s Treasury Board and Finance critic, Catherine Fife, (MPP-Kitchener-Waterloo) asked the Wynne government why it continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on private sector vendors and consultants, when the government’s own report shows that private sector services cost more than double. The government’s response steered clear of these concerns, and focused almost entirely on the government’s spending on fee-for-service consultants.
Subsequent to the lobby, the NDP has continued to raise concerns about IT privatization with the government. This includes asking a question related to private sector data storage, and the continued underuse of the Guelph Data Centre.
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