Hello Suzanne:
I stand corrected re SERCO's salary offerings. I was quoting numbers that
appeared in the Globe and Mail around the time of the proposal for take-over
and which are still on the Internet if you do a search.
With respect to the fact that the facility is cleaner - I'm not surprised
as, if you look at SERCO's prospectus and list of contracts, that's where
their expertise is - facilities management, removing garbage, maintaining
elevators, etc. The concern I have is that someone, be it SERCO or their
clients, thinks that ability to run a facility efficiently translates into
ability to run ANY facility, regardless of the nature of that facility. It's
just too simplistic a solution.
I agree with you about tax dollars - however, the contract which our Council
endorsed with SERCO will end up costing the taxpayers here an estimated $2
million in unforseen costs in the next five years. And the level of service
is lousy as they've reduced full-time management staff to 3, who so far,
spend most of their time whining about how busy they are!
Yes, I'm bitter.
Ann Gonneau
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: June 26, 1998 12:37 PM
Subject: Re: more ramblings...
>In article <01bd9eb3$cd987fe0$2fb2acce@ann-s>,
> Ann Gonneau <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>. SERCO's been making the headlines in Canada recently as
>> the Ministry of National Defense handed them a contract to take over the
>> operation of the air traffic control facility at Goose Bay, Labrador.
>> Without the protective legislation, transitioned employees found
themselves
>> offered salaries 25% on average below their previous pay scale as the
'scope
>> of work' had been altered - if anything like Cumberland's experience
it's
>> increased! Cumberland went from 5 full-time staff to 4 and from 7
>> interpreters to 3, while increasing opening hours by an additional day.
>>
>
>Hi Ann, Just thought I'd offer a slight correction here. SERCo is taking
>over ATC in Goose Bay as of August 1/98. But the salary they are offering
>controllers is only a few dollars a year less than that of a full
incentive
>captain in the CF ( a very good salary indeed). Despite that they've only
>managed to hold on to 3 of the 18 controllers who worked here with the
>Forces. (Many factors other than salary influenced that: time in the
>forces, pension penalties etc. You don't give up a pension or take a
>10-40%cut in pension to go to a job that may only last 4 years) It is in
the
>other services that SERCo has been taking over since April 1 that the
salary
>changes were drastic: food services, janitorial, carpentry, painting etc.
>The kicker was when they offered clerical staff jobs as cleaners at about
40%
>less pay. On the other hand everyone agrees that service has improved
>dramatically since they have taken over...much to everyone's surprise. No
>one waits in line to be served lunch while staff sit at nearby tables
smoking
> (an all too common occurence when staff worked for DND). And everyone
>comments on how clean everything is now. True staff has been cut by about
>30%, but if the work is being done better by fewer what does that say about
>the situation before? As a taxpayer, I like to see my tax dollar used in
the
>best way possible. There is talk now of forming a Union but not everyone
if
>jumping at the chance to sign on. I'm anxious to see what things will be
>like next April when SERCo has been handling things for a year. The one
>place they have been having a high turnover of staff is in food services
and
>that will probably settle down soon.
>
>Suzanne Mealey
>
>
>
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