NSGEU Calls On Premier to Stand Up for Public Sector Workers

MEDIA RELEASE

NSGEU Calls On Premier to Stand Up for Public Sector Workers

(Dartmouth) The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) is calling on Premier Tim Houston to stand up for workers and tell the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) to stop contracting out good jobs across their provincial campuses.

The NSCC recently made the choice to contract out food services across its campuses to Aramark, a private American company, which resulted in twenty-seven long time employees losing their jobs, their pension, and their health benefits. Some workers are only a few years from retirement and others rely heavily on their health benefits.

“This is a blow to our members, many who have dedicated years of service to the NSCC and its students,” said Sandra Mullen, President of the NSGEU. “These are good, public-sector jobs that are being eliminated, and replaced by positions with no pension, severely reduced benefits, and less favorable sick time and vacation provisions. The premier must understand that pushing people out of their jobs, risks their livelihood and is just bad for the province. He needs to protect these public sector jobs, as there are families that rely on them to provide for their families.”

There are also questions around the apparent lack of transparency surrounding the awarding of this contract. The NSGEU questions how Aramark was selected without a new, competitive tendering process, with NSCC acknowledging they are “leveraging a former procurement process.”

“It’s perplexing how an American corporation can secure an NSCC wide contract without a new, open, and transparent bidding process, open to all companies” Mullen stated. “This raises serious questions about accountability and whether the best interests of Nova Scotian workers and communities are truly being served.”

From a freedom of information request filed by the NSGEU to the Department of Advanced Education, NSCC President Don Bureaux outlines the “opportunity” stating, “Aramark has approached NSCC to discuss food service opportunities. Based on a prior tendering process, we are able to negotiate a sole-source contract with Aramark.” What is not disclosed is how much Aramark will receive from the contract. What will be done to ensure the contract is a good value for money? You can see the Freedom of Information request here.

“These are not just numbers on a balance sheet; these are Nova Scotians, our neighbours, who are facing immense uncertainty,” Mullen concluded. ” In the end, the move represents a prioritization of financial figures over the well-being of dedicated employees and only time will tell if someone will be left holding a bag of beans. The premier needs to offer people more than words, they need his help, and Nova Scotia needs a government that puts people first.”

The NSGEU remains committed to advocating for its members and ensuring fair treatment for all public sector workers in Nova Scotia.