THUNDER BAY: About half of the 300 contract staff at the Office of the Registrar General (ORG) will be let go when their contracts expire July 30.
These cuts will mean longer waiting times for birth, death and marriage certificates.
OPSEU has repeatedly called for more full-time employment at the ORG. “These layoffs are a slap in the face to the staff at ORG, and to citizens already waiting months and months for essential documents,” said OPSEU President Leah Casselman.
ORG claims waiting times for documents have been cut from 16-20 weeks last winter, to 9-11 weeks today.
OPSEU members at ORG say that isn’t the whole truth. They say only the 25 per cent of applications that arrive in perfect order are processed in 9-11 weeks.
Staff are still working overtime every weekend to process applications backlogged from late 2003.
“I spoke to the minister earlier this year about this issue. But he is still listening to the senior managers at ORG who want to whitewash the problems - he should be listening to our members,” Casselman said.
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For further information:
David Cox, OPSEU Communications, 1-800-268-7376 x 314
