Government Funding for Kruger Proves Layoffs not Necessary

Government Funding for Kruger Proves Layoffs not Necessary

ST. JOHN’S, NL – NAPE President Carol Furlong is reacting to the announcement that the provincial government is granting a 90 million dollar loan to Kruger.

“We have been saying since budget day that government’s decision, to throw a thousand public employees out of work and dramatically reduce public services, was a political choice based on some misguided ideology rather than their ability to pay,” said Furlong. “The 90 million dollar announcement is tangible proof that government had at its disposal the necessary funds to continue to provide essential public services.”

“This clearly demonstrates that government had choices other than force a thousand Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and their families into economic uncertainty,” stated Furlong. “It was a callous move to lay off public employees when government clearly had other alternatives to deal with its short term fiscal problems.”

“This is an extremely disheartening time for public employees as they now realize that the government made a choice to terminate their employment rather than seek other options which were open to them,” continued Furlong. “Government could find $90 million for Kruger but could not find the necessary funds to save public services and the jobs of a thousand Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Laying off a thousand public sector workers will have a devastating impact on the economy.”

NAPE is once again calling on the provincial government to conduct comprehensive reviews of the departments and agencies that were affected by budget cuts and layoffs.

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