Harper Government Announces 10,980 Public Sector Positions Eliminated in Past Six Months

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 16, 2012) - The Honourable Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for FedNor, today announced that 10,980 public service jobs have been eliminated so far as part of Economic Action Plan 2012.

"We said we would eliminate 19,200 positions within the federal government and we are doing what we promised to do," said Minister Clement. "In just six months, we have already achieved more than half the reductions set out in the Budget. A leaner, more affordable government is good for taxpayers and it's important in terms of our ability to return to balanced budgets."

The job reductions have been achieved through a combination of attrition, which includes retirement, and positions eliminated under the collectively bargained workforce adjustment process. In the first half of this fiscal year, 7,500 positions have been eliminated through attrition, up from 7,200 originally projected in Economic Action Plan 2012.

"We are shrinking the size of government while minimizing impacts to employees," said Minister Clement. "We will continue to work hard to rein in spending and find efficiencies in government operations. Our Government understands that reducing costs helps keep taxes and our debt low, which are critical to spurring growth and ensuring our long-term prosperity."

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BACKGROUNDER

ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN 2012 - UPDATE ON PUBLIC SERVICE REDUCTIONS

In Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government committed to managing public finances in a responsible manner and returning to balanced budgets in the medium term. Part of that plan included ongoing reductions of $5.2 billion in departmental spending and a reduction of 19,200 federal positions over three years.

The Government is managing workforce reductions responsibly, in keeping with workforce adjustment provisions negotiated with bargaining agents in collective agreements. Of the 19,200 position reductions, it is expected that approximately 12,000 will be eliminated through workforce adjustment provisions (including alternation) and the remaining 7,200 will be managed through vacancy management, attrition and a decrease in new hiring.

The chart below outlines reduction objectives as outlined in Economic Action Plan 2012 by Government portfolio. The Government is on track to achieve these goals over the three-year roll out period.