AUPE President warns against $1 billion in proposed cuts next year
EDMONTON – The government of Alberta’s so-called “austerity measures” to balance the budget this year have strained public sector employees across the province to the breaking point, and another $1 billion in cuts would be a “disaster” for the provincial economy AUPE President Guy Smith said today.
“Another $1 billion in cuts will reduce the quality and availability of social programs and services Albertans count on, and will do it at exactly the time these programs are most needed,” Smith said.
“Our members are already stretched thin and growing extremely frustrated by the ongoing threat of further cuts. What they really see is increasing need for the programs and services they provide to Albertans every day, and fewer resources to provide those same programs and services,” Smith added.
Smith also pointed out the government is doing exactly what the Conference Board of Canada warned governments not to do in a Nov. 2009 report titled Fending off Recession.
The report authors wrote “it would be wrong-headed economically to cut programs or reduce total planned government spending during an economic slowdown in order to attain a pre-determined fiscal surplus or balance target. That strategy would only reduce demand growth and make a difficult situation worse.”
Smith noted that the single largest areas of budget cuts in the current fiscal year has been in Health and Wellness, which is forecast to have expenses $237 million less than planned in the March 2009 budget.
“The single biggest area where the government is trying to do more with less – health care – is the area where we can least afford to gamble. They’re playing dice with the service that’s consistently the number one priority for Albertans,” Smith said.
“Public sector employees across the gamut of programs are already dealing with higher workloads, less job certainty, and more stress due to the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce staffing levels. A $1 billion budget cut would be a disaster,” he concluded.
For more information:
Guy Smith, President AUPE, 780-930-3301, or 780-265-2294 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311, or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone).