CUPE National Representative Kathy MacLeod says, “In a curt, two-paragraph letter to the local president, Lorne Green states, ‘after careful deliberation and reflection … it was the decision of the Board to deny your request’.
“So much for openness and transparency from these elected representatives. We are disappointed, but ultimately not all that surprised that they won’t meet with us to explain how they were the only school board in the province to lay off large numbers of frontline staff,” says MacLeod.
“It certainly looks to us like this is in direct response to our public criticisms of their decision to lay off 70 CUPE employees,” says MacLeod.
“What we were looking for answers to,” says Macleod, “is how all of the other school boards were able to follow the minister’s directive on budget cuts – layoffs in other boards were in the single digits - but the CBVRSB was unable to do this.”
“We also asked for a copy of the one dissenting report, from Commissioner Stephen Parsons, who presented the board with an alternative to the staffing cuts. Why haven’t they made that report publicly available,” asks MacLeod.
“CUPE Local 5050 believes both the affected staff and the families of the students who will be hurt by these cuts deserve some answers to these questions,” she says.
For information:
Kathy MacLeod
CUPE National Rep.
(902) 539-4933 (o)
Carmie Erickson
Local 5050 Vice President
(902) 574-1381 (Cell)
John McCracken
CUPE Atlantic Communications Rep.
(902) 880-8057 (Cell)