Government downplaying job cuts with 'full-time equivalent' term, says NAPE

The head of province's largest union says more workers will be affected by the recent budget cuts than the government is letting on.

On Monday the province's health authorities said they were cutting nearly 200 full-time equivalent jobs to meet budget cost reductions laid out by the government.

• Eastern Health cutting jobs, Central Health closing clinics to save after budget cuts
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NAPE President Jerry Earle says that number is misleading, and that manymore people will actually see their jobs cut at the end of the day.

"That's acallous approach they used, to talk about full-time equivalents," Earle told CBC's On the Goon Monday.

"Let's tell people out there how many of their neighbours or their friends, or how many people in their community were cut. We have to look at people here who were affected," he said.

"A full time equivalent is a 75 per cent position in health care, but actually you could have two part-time people so the number could certainly exceed the 450positions that arereferenced in the budget document," said Earle.

Removepeople, remove services

Earle saidgovernment is focusing too much on the numbers and not realizing that downsizing staff is going to undermine services.

"People in this province have to realize, as we have been saying for some weeks, as you remove people you remove services," he said. "How are wegoing to remove people from the systemand expect to provide the same level of care?"

"Theycan try to hand the responsibilities down to the regional health authorities, with all due respect to the CEOs like David Diamond," said Earle, "buttheyare making these decisions because of funding that has been removed from health care."