15 assistant deputy minister positions cut in civil service restructuring
Cuts are latest round in government reorganization
The provincial government has announced further layoffs as part of Newfoundland and Labrador's ongoing restructuring of its civil service.
The Department of Finance announced on Thursday that 15 assistant deputy minister positions would be cut. The changes are anticipated to save about $2 million a year, according to a press release, but government will pay the departing employees $1.25 million in severance.
Minister Cathy Bennett said in an email that government would not be releasing a list of positions that were affected until Friday, "out of respect for the employees and their families."
The cuts follow a re-organization of departments in August, which saw the number of deputy minister positions cut.
In today's statement, the province said the ongoing reorganization would result "in a leaner government structure with more efficient planning, better management framework and sound governance."
According to the Department of Finance, the 15 job cuts represent a 20 per cent reduction of the number of senior executives at the assistant deputy minister level.
Liberals 'politicizing,' say PCs
PC leader Paul Davis took a shot at the Liberals on Thursday afternoon, alleging the government was hiding their true intentions and dressing up political patronage as restructuring and reorganization.
"It is made to look like a reduction at the management level when, in fact, it's nothing but political patronage dressed up to look like something it's not," Davis said in a press release.
The PCs highlighted several recent civil service hires — including Chris Pickard, a new Director of Communications in government — citing "close political ties" as evidence that the ball government was forcing their political agenda on the civil service.
"They are politicizing the province's public service in ways that have not been seen in generations," Davis wrote.
Government officials have defended Pickard's hire, saying he was done so under proper practices, as well as the previous hiring of three former Liberal candidates to top jobs in the civil service.
Lynn Sullivan, George Joyce and Paula Walsh were all hired as deputy ministers or assistant deputy ministers, though Premier Dwight Ball said the moves were purely about "putting people in that have the experience and the knowledge to do what needs to be done."