CUPE says new St. John's budget means privitization, public service layoffs

The Canadian Union of Public Employeesis calling the latest City of St. John's budget an attack on services and jobs.

• Property taxes rise with new St. John's budget

CUPE, which represents both inside and outside workers with the city, released a statement on Thursdayexpressing concern over several aspects of the budget.

In the statement, CUPEnational representative Derrick Barrettsaidthe city is moving in a direction that does not bode well for the city's residents and employees.

"They are pursuing privatization of public services, while at the same time reducing the municipal workforce through attrition," he wrote.

"We all know that attrition is just a fancy word for layoffs."

Barrett went on to write that as services such as water and sewer are handed over to the private sector, residents will see increased costs which could be in the thousands of dollars.

The union says it's also concerned about workload issues due to early retirements.

Barrett says CUPE has asked for a meeting with city officials to discuss the issues.