Marianne Hladun submitted the following letter regarding National Public Service Week to the Winnipeg Free Press:
I appreciate a good summer BBQ just as much as the next person. But when the federal government gives employees a hot dog with one hand, and pink slips and concession bargaining demands with the other, I tend to lose my appetite.
This week the federal government will host National Public Service Week events in workplaces across the country to mark the importance of federal public service employees. Supplies of hot dogs and cake will be bountiful and Stephen Harper will do his best to feign interest in the feelings of public service workers.
However, it was just two years ago when his government committed to cutting more than 19,000 public service workers. Since then he has systemically dismantled the public services Canadians rely on and tarnished our reputation as a country.
Now he’s targeting our sick leave in an attempt to strip public service workers of the negotiated benefits they depend on. And there’s talk, once again, about reducing the pensions that public service workers pay for.
If this government really wants to show it’s appreciation for public service workers and their service to Canadians, it’s going to take more than a hot dog and ice cream. Public service workers want real respect, not empty gestures.
Marianne Hladun, Regional Executive Vice-President, PSAC Prairie Region