Reduces proposed number of civil service employees by 2000, according to Legault.
The Quebec government is slashing 2,000 civil servant jobs and imposing a hiring freeze for this year to tighten its budget. While this may seem like a permanent hiring freeze, Sonia LeBel, the President of the Treasury Board, clarifies that it's not so. Ministries are still allowed to hire existing public service employees, as LeBel is duty-bound to comply with François Legault's order to decrease the public service workforce by 2,000 positions.
Last year, the number of civil servants surged by 1,684, and the year before saw a growth of more than 4,000. LeBel criticized the ministries, stating they had overstuffed their coffers with people. The hiring freeze is an additional measure to curb the deficit, following Quebec's lowered credit rating.
Exemptions have been made in the judicial system, health, and education sectors. The state wants to hire additional staff in healthcare to replace the use of private agencies and staff new facilities, such as retirement homes. In the education network, they are recruiting teaching assistants, personnel for young immigrant integration, higher education staff, and coordinators for internships in fields such as nursing or digital shifts.
In the parapublic sector, LeBel has set a cap on staffing growth at 1.6%, equating to 8,452 full-time equivalent positions. The state currently employs 608,793 individuals, including 80,520 in the public service and 528,273 in the parapublic sector.
The government has faced criticism for the expansion of the state in recent years. Despite a 2018 promise by the Coalition Avenir Québec to eliminate 5,000 public service jobs, the public service has increased by 17.4%, or 11,903 full-time equivalent positions. LeBel confirms that the government has fulfilled its promise, as it concerned only administrative posts.
Regarding teleworking, LeBel assesses its impact on productivity as "neutral" at best or positive. She attributes some psychological distress among the State's personnel, as revealed by a Laval University survey earlier this year, to the aftermath of the pandemic.
Fun Fact: Teleworking jobs are projected to grow by 87% between 2019 and 2025, according to a Global Workplace Analytics report.
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- The Quebec government's policy-and-legislation includes a hiring freeze for civil servants, except in the judicial system, health, and education sectors, where additional staff is being recruited.
- Sonia LeBel, the President of the Treasury Board, announced that ministries can still hire existing public service employees, despite the hiring freeze, in an attempt to decrease the public service workforce by 2,000 positions.
- Last year, the number of civil servants surged by 1,684, and the year before saw a growth of more than 4,000, which LeBel criticized for overstaffing in ministries.
- The parapublic sector is capped at a 1.6% growth in staffing, equating to 8,452 full-time equivalent positions, according to LeBel's latest policy decisions.
