Employees feel bullied by threats of layoffs, job cuts
City of Iqaluit employees publicly burned a letter from their employer that threatens layoffs and significant cuts to their benefits in order to reduce the city’s deficit.
City workers gathered for a rally outside Iqaluit City Hall Wednesday, March 30 to voice their frustrations over receiving the letter, which was attached to their latest pay stub.
The city is also proposing a two-year salary freeze.
“This is an act of intimidation aimed at city employees, plain and simple,” says Jack Bourassa, Regional Executive Vice President for PSAC North. “The employer wants to silence its workers, but their actions will only unify them.”
Already, one city employee has been laid off, throwing into jeopardy ongoing negotiations to reach a fair deal between the city and unionized workers.
“We’re not impressed with our employer’s intimidation and we’re not going to take it,” said Bill Fennell, president of the Nunavut Employees Union.
City workers are represented by Local 6 of the NEU, a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
The city workers’ bargaining team is prepared to work with their employer to reduce Iqaluit’s deficit, but not on the backs of hard-working city staff.