Dalton and Dave pull government jobs out of the Sault

"Not one more government job will leave Sault Ste. Marie."

You can find that promise, still prominently posted at SaultLiberal.ca, David Orazietti's campaign website from the last provincial election.

Today, we're having trouble finding the Sault MPP to get him to explain why his government is pulling not one job, but nine, out of the city.

Subsequent coverage: Orazietti's online promise vanishes, then reappears

The loss of 600 government jobs in recent years at Ontarfio Lottery and Gaming Corp., the local jail, Municipal Property Assessment Corp. and other provincial ministries was a major campaign issue for Orazietti.

But employees at the provincial Shared Services Bureau on the fourth floor at 390 Bay Street were advised yesterday that their office will close as part of a province-wide reshuffling of the the government's Management Board Secretariat.

They work in purchasing and payroll, mostly for area offices of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

They also handle payroll for the Ontario Forest Research Institute.

We're advised that seven of the nine affected employees in Sault Ste. Marie have been offered relocation packages, although most of those jobs are in Toronto or Peterborough.

We're only aware of one employee who's being allowed to remain in Northern Ontario, through a transfer to Thunder Bay.

SooToday.com has obtained extensive documentation on the re-organization, some from official union channels and others from unofficial channels.

We'll be posting as much of this material as is useful to understand the story.

The following is a leaked confidential "suggested script" for a conference call yesterday conducted by Sharon Cohen, Toronto-based chief executive officer of the Shared Services Bureau.

Employees who participated in the call tell us that Cohen stayed very close to script, reading lengthy portions verbatim.

*************************** CONFIDENTIAL

August 24.2004

SSB Office Consolidation Strategy

Suggested Script for CEO Conference Call

Announcement (Introduction)

Good afternoon to all of you. Thank you all for attending today.

I know that making arrangements to be here for this announcement was challenging for many of you and I want to make sure you understand how much I personally appreciate the efforts you have made to be here.

It is not often that the CEO of an organization of this size has the opportunity to speak to everyone in the organization at once.

But I think this occasion justifies the effort that was required to pull together these meetings.

I want to thank everyone involved for helping to make this happen.

We have made this effort because today's announcement signals the most important change for employees in the Bureau's five-year history.

I wanted to be certain that everyone in the organization has the opportunity to hear this news at the same time - and at the earliest possible moment.

As you know by now, we are all gathered together today to hear about SSB's Office Consolidation Strategy.

Those of you who have been with the organization for several years will be familiar with discussions around what we have called the "Distribution Strategy".

Since 2001, we have been talking openly about the need for SSB to reduce its number of locations around the province and find some way to draw people doing similar work into common locations.

The product of all that discussion is what we are announcing today: our Office Consolidation Strategy.

The time to move forward with that strategy has arrived.

Four weeks ago, we received approval to implement office consolidation.

We have moved as quickly as possible to get from that day to this one.

There are many hurdles that need to be cleared before an announcement of this scale can be made: disclosure to bargaining agents, preparation of materials, getting the logistics right for these meetings, preparation of the people who are making these presentations.

It was a lot of work to carry out in such a short time.

I'm telling you this because I want you to know that the first priority for me was getting this news as quickly as possible to the people it matters most to: the staff of this organization.

So here is what you need to know:

• SSB is preparing to consolidate its offices in six communities. As you may know. we are currently located in 16 communities and more than 30 office locations.

• Three of the six communities are in the south: the GTA, Orillia, and Peterborough. We are also creating three centres of excellence in the north in North Bay, Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

• If you currently work in a community other than one of the six I just named, your position will be relocated.

• Further, even if your position is currently located in one of the six destination communities, you may still be one of the people asked to relocate as a part of this initiative. Our primary goal is to gather together positions performing similar work in as few locations as possible. Those relocations are being done to ensure that we achieve that goal.

• For those of you in classified positions that are relocating - and this is important - you will have the opportunity to move with your position. I realize this may not be possible for all of you, but I want to be certain that those of you working in units that are relocating understand that you do have that option.

I know this is difficult news to hear.

Please know that I understand the serious implications this announcement will have for many of you.

In a little while, you will receive packages of information that will help fill in some of the gaps and help you to understand the decisions that some of you will have to make.

But also please understand that you have time.

No one is being asked to decide anything today.

These relocations will take place over a period of months, not days or weeks.

Those of you who are being asked to relocate with your positions now have a month to work through a11 of the information and make your decision about whether or not to move with your job.

And you will not be making that decision alone.

A number of supports are available to those of you who are being asked to relocate.

As you will see in your packages when you receive them, there is a special HR hotline that has been set up and there is a range of services available to you through the Employee Assistance Program.

I urge you to make full use of those services and make the best possible decision for yourself.

The organization will do everything it reasonably can to support you while you make your decision.

We will also be working very closely with our clients throughout this transition period.

When I finish on this call, I will begin that process by calling all of the CAO's in our client ministries and informing them of our plans and talking to them about what this will mean to them and the services they receive from us.

We are also putting in place a number of supports to help us serve our clients to the best of our ability during the transition period.

To read the conclusion of this document, please click here.