Cuts and privatization catching up with Manitoba’s public services
Today, the MGEU released a new report highlighting the ongoing impact that years of Civil Service cuts and privatization are having on provincial public services.
“Prior to being elected, Brian Pallister stated, ‘We are pledging no front-line civil servants will lose their jobs under a Progressive Conservative Government.’ But look how that turned out. We have over 2,300 fewer civil servants now than when he took over in 2016,” MGEU President Kyle Ross said. “This means fewer conservation officers, health inspectors, child and family service workers – I could go on and on. The result means services are depleted, and Manitobans wait longer and get less.”
The report, “State of the Civil Service 2023 – Cuts and privatization catching up with Manitoba’s public services,” highlights the damaging cuts to the Civil Service and how it’s impacted MGEU members.
After years of cuts, contracting out, and privatization, many vital positions in the Civil Service have been left unfilled – Ross said the government’s most recent figures show that on average a staggering 27% of Civil Service jobs are vacant. Even when the employer has more recently tried to fill some of these positions, they often haven’t been able to do so because the Province no longer offers the kind of working conditions and compensation that would make the Civil Service an employer of choice in a tight labour market.
Issues examined in the report include:
- A reduction of 2,300 jobs from Manitoba’s civil service since 2016;
- Vacancy rates in many government departments hovering dangerously high – between 20 and 30 percent – with the Department of Health showing the highest vacancy rate at an alarming 42 percent in 2022;
- Staffing shortages in Vital Statistics, Health Protection, and the Office of Drinking Water, which have reduced service levels;
- Declining employee morale since 2017, with 54 percent of Civil Servants reporting morale has worsened or worsened a lot over the past two years;
- Challenging working conditions and short staffing for Correctional Officers, which has led to the number of accepted psychological injury claims more than doubling from 39 in 2018 to 83 in 2021; and
- The failed privatization of the Pineland Forest Nursery and contracting out of Lifeflight air ambulance and highway maintenance, which has led to a drop in service quality.
To restore Manitoba’s public services, the report also provides a number of recommendations, which includes investing more in the people providing public services, improving employee engagement, putting an end to the government’s privatization agenda, and providing more stability and adequate funding for departments after years of uncertainty and budget cuts.
“Our members are struggling to ensure Manitobans have the public services they count on. It’s pretty hard when they look around and see a bunch of empty desks and no one to help them get the job done. It’s time for that to change. It’s time to invest in our public services,” said Ross.