The Sask Party is looking into privatizing the cleaning services of government buildings.
The government said in an email Wednesday the Ministry of Central Services is in the early stages of examining if there is value in making the transition.
The Ministry is issuing a Request for Services for cleaning services Thursday morning which will remain open until Feb. 10, 2017. If it is deemed such a change would not save the government money, operations will remain the same.
The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) claims this change will result in the loss of 251 custodial positions in 17 Saskatchewan communities. The SGEU added 139 of those are permanent full-time, 59 are permanent part-time, and 53 are non-permanent.
In a news release, SGEU President Bob Bymoen said “Brad Wall and the Sask. Party government are continuing down their path of economic destruction. They’re cutting the jobs of the lowest paid public servants in the province. Why? Because they’re incapable of managing our economic situation, so they cut the jobs of these Saskatchewan people trying to make a living.”
The government confirmed there is no impact to employees at the moment since the Ministry is just exploring the option of the private sector providing these services. It added 30 government-owned buildings in 13 Saskatchewan communities currently have private sector suppliers.
British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario all contract out cleaning of government-owned facilities.
The provincial government is expected to provide more information about this Thursday.