A message from NSGEU President Sandra Mullen on the Treasury and Policy Board Administrative Directive on Vacancy Management

Dear Members,

I am writing to you regarding the recently released Treasury and Policy Board (TPB) Administrative Directive on Vacancy Management, set to take effect on November 15th, 2025. This directive mandates a 2-for-1 ratio for filling vacant Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions across government departments and various agencies. Simply put: for every two positions that become vacant, the government only intends to allow one to be filled, with the other eliminated from the budget entirely.

The Myth of the Frontline Exemption

The directive specifically states that “Frontline civil servants that perform essential duties directly interacting with the public (i.e., correctional officers, social workers, Access Nova Scotia)” are exempt.” However, we all know that delivering quality public service is a team effort. The positions that will be eliminated are the crucial backbone of public service who ensure the frontline can do their job effectively.

When these roles disappear, where does that work go? It gets offloaded onto the “exempt” frontline staff. They will be forced to take on greater workloads, spend less time serving the public, and face higher levels of burnout and stress. The government may not be directly cutting “frontline” jobs, but this directive will dismantle this support structure, and frontline workers and Nova Scotians will absolutely be impacted in the long run.

With mounting challenges facing Nova Scotians, is reducing the capacity of our public service really the direction government should be going? The answers to Nova Scotia’s problems do not lie in fewer people working to solve them.

Does the government truly believe that having fewer people working—fewer hands on deck, fewer experts planning, and fewer staff supporting—will somehow lead to better service for Nova Scotians?

This directive sends a clear message that the government is prioritizing short-term budget figures over the long-term health and delivery of essential public services. During the last round of Civil Service bargaining, your bargaining committee held firm and refused to budge on the employer’s attempts to remove job protection language. We can only imagine what the plan would be had we lost any portion of these vital protections.

Our Next Steps

The NSGEU is committed to protecting the jobs and the public services our members provide, and Nova Scotians need. I have written the Premier and the Minister Responsible for the Public Service Commission, seeking further information on what this policy entails. Click here to see the letter.

We need your help!

Tell us how these cuts will impact you, your workplace and the services you provide to Nova Scotians..

Document and Report: If a position remains vacant in your area, and you are asked to absorb that work, document the additional duties and the resulting loss of time or quality in your core duties.

We will continue to monitor the implementation of this directive closely, we are seeking further information and clarity from the government regarding the rationale, and scope. The people of Nova Scotia deserve better.