Fears unworked time may become permanent budget reduction measure
“Be careful what you wish for.”
That cautionary adage is one the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU) is spreading to its members, as the number of provincial government workers taking advantage of the voluntary reduced workweek (VRW) program increases.
In 2002, when the VRW was first introduced, about 14 per cent of Manitoba government employees took advantage of a shorter unpaid workweek. In 2009, that number increased to about 20 per cent. It’s expected even more employees will apply for leave without pay under the VRW with new changes to the review and approval process.
The MGEU’s communication officer, John Baert, says the union has mixed feelings about the program’s “success.”
“Our problem has been that oftentimes employees will bring work home with them, or they’ll return to unreasonable amounts of work when they return,” he says. “Or their co-workers get an extra burden.”
Additionally, he says only some civil servants can afford to take unpaid time off. Single parents or those earning less than $40,000 a year are less likely to be able, or even want, to take a VRW, he adds.
“It places an extra burden on those who aren’t able to take advantage of it,” he says. “It does increase workload and stress for them and because of the workload issues that are already there, these people are taking work home with them.”
According to government spokesperson, John Thorpe, managers consider operational requirements, including the impact of the employee’s time off and other VRW requests, before granting a VRW.
Baert argues that consideration is “certainly not used a lot.”
Thorpe says the new changes “ensure adequate time for employees to request VRW and for the managers to approve requests,” while spreading out the deduction over the maximum period of time — 24 pay periods — to “minimize the impact” on the employee.
In 2002, the VRW program saved the province $2.2 million. Those savings rose to $3.8 million in 2009.
Baert says while the program saves the province money, it also lays the groundwork for future layoffs.
“Not only is this a reduction in your take-home pay, when governments do their budgeting from year to year, if there are departments that are taking advantage of this in a big way, they may take EFTs [full-time equivalents] off the table,” he says. “There may be job loss if they see that departments can make do with fewer hours through VRW.”
Baert says though civil service numbers have “remained steady” in recent years, the union is concerned the government may look to the VRW program for further cost savings. Unpaid leave was legislated in Manitoba in 1993, when the civil service was forced to take what became known as “Filmon Fridays.” The governing Conservatives said the days off saved $110 million and 500 civil service jobs over seven years.
The MGEU hopes to keep the “voluntary” in VRW by making its membership aware of the costs associated with a shorter workweek.
“It’s more of an awareness issue than anything else as we have attacked this,” he says. “Government encourages them to take VRW, but we have done our best to make sure people understand what they’re opting for when they choose to take VRW days.”
Baert admits many union members enjoy a shortened workweek, even if it is unpaid and even if it does add to their workload. He says the union has yet to find a way to bargain this issue to give workers choice and still protect them from being overburdened on the job.
“We’ve certainly argued in favour of work-life balance and part of work-life balance is not taking work home, is not having additional stress weigh you down during your home hours,” he says.
