MCNEIL: NON-UNIONIZED PROVINCIAL EMPLOYEES GET A CUTBACK FOR CHRISTMAS
Date: Friday December 4, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal leader Stephen McNeil says non-unionized provincial employees expecting to receive a retroactive cheque before year's end are receiving a rollback notice instead.

"Some employees have been informed by their managers, others have been informed by a note on their pay stubs, but many employees expecting a 2.9 per cent increase retroactive to April 1st of this year are getting one per cent instead," said McNeil. "Their unionized colleagues received the 2.9 per cent, of course."

The bad news went out to a dozen agencies and services last month in the form of a directive from the Department of Community Services. It affects organizations from transition homes to housing authorities to adult residential centres.

Traditionally, non-unionized provincial employees receive the same increases granted to their unionized counterparts. However, in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, they are being singled out for a rollback. That rollback will be repeated in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

A separate directive has gone to non-union employees in Crown corporations and agencies, district health authorities and regional school boards as well.

"This is a cynical and divisive way to treat the provincial employees and civil servants whose services we use every day," said McNeil. "Everyone understands the need for financial restraint, but fairness needs to be the key operating principle. This is unfair to thousands of hard-working employees that Nova Scotians depend upon every single day."

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