Stop the government from selling off our jobs. Report to AUPE’s anti-privatization committee.
Have a hunch your work is at risk of privatization? AUPE’s anti-privatization committee has a new online tool for you to sound the alarm.
For decades Albertans have been seeing the shift from publicly owned public services to privately owned public services. Privatization happened under the Klein government; it persisted under the Redford government; and it didn’t let up under former Premier Notley, who continued to invest in for-profit continuing care homes.
Today, the trend is only ramping up, and if we don’t get ahead of it, we’ll be forced to take a big step backwards. If you think your industry, job or any service within your department is at risk of privatization, report it to AUPE's anti-privatization committee here.
Don’t know what the signs are? Here’s a quick checklist of the things you can look for to determine if privatization is imminent:
- Rumours: Heard whispers about privatization in your workplace, sector or professional field? Report it.
- Attrition: Seen positions go unfilled after a coworker retires or leaves the workplace? Report it.
- Outside staff: Seen or heard of contractors hired to do bargaining unit work? Report it.
What does privatization mean for you? Think about what you’ve gained through bargaining.
Worker protections dig into private employers’ profits and challenge their power, which is why they work hard to fight them – protections like:
- Our wage grids
- Our seniority
- Our benefits
- Our pensions
- Our vacation
- Our grievance procedures
- Our leaves
All of these could disappear through privatization.
Will I be laid off?
Mass layoffs often follow privatization.
- One report estimated a total of 174 full-time positions would be axed when Saskatchewan’s health authority privatized their hospital laundry services in 2014.
- Back in 2008, one of Vegreville’s major continuing care centres was privatized and in 2019 the company in charge laid off 53 AUPE members, contracting out their work to a company based in B.C. that’s paying workers $8 - $10 less than the original unionized staff.
By laying off workers, private companies make our communities desperate for jobs, affording them the leeway to drive down working conditions.
What’s good for bosses is rarely good for workers. Privatization might drum up business but it drags our communities down.
The key to a fightback campaign is working together and tackling privatization before it actually starts. When we work together we win.