Education, CUPE spar over job cuts

The Department of Education and the Canadian Union of Public Employees are fighting over the number of job cuts taking effect this fall as a result of budget cuts.

The March budget eliminated $2.9 million for library support workers and intervention workers. But after a rash of protests, the Liberal government changed education ministers and reinstated the $2.9-million budget cut.

Sandra Harding, the president of CUPE Local 2745, which represents many employees laid off in the education system, said the money the government restored to the budget in June has not led to a complete reversal of layoffs.

CUPE said only three-quarters of the 588 people who received layoff notices due to the original cut have been rehired.

During a Tuesday afternoon briefing, education department officials said many of those layoffs are the result of other factors.

Valmond Guimond, the director of human resources at the education department, said CUPE's figures are misleading, with even a small reduction in an employee's hours being counted as a layoff.

According to department, numbers already filed by eight of the 14 school districts, only 21 workers are being completely laid off. And Guimond said some of those layoffs are due to other factors, such as declining enrolment.

The provincial government is acknowledging, though, that a broader cut of five per cent to the overall education budget is one of those other factors.

Harding said CUPE plans to continue pressuring the government to make sure no one is laid off.