The City of Saskatoon has issued layoff notices to members of staff, representing the start to a new staffing plan for the city.
Saskatoon City Manager Jeff Jorgenson says the city put out 49 layoff notices, this week, in addition to a previous 250 casual workers that took layoffs. Jorgenson says this is an important first step but more aggressive steps will be rolled out in the coming weeks, including hundreds more potentially being laid off. He says they will continue looking for anyone who might take volunteer layoffs, and combined with these layoff notices and other transfers, negotiations and further details should be complete soon. The city is looking at re-deployment of staff, with excess staff in leisure services and other areas, Jorgenson says more extreme measures will be taken for essential services, but the continue to look at ways to keep all city services, as much as possible, operational.
Jorgenson says the city has been very fortunate so far that only a few civic staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19, all of which are currently in good health or recovered.
Stay at Home During the Long Weekend
Mayor Charlie Clark reiterated the federal and provincial governments call to not gather during the long weekend. Mayor Clark says for Easter, Passover or any other community celebration it is very important to stay home as gatherings around meals have been the catalyst for the virus spreading. “So today and this weekend we must find new ways of connecting, through the phone, Skype, Zoom, or any other means we can to adapt to these trying times. This also means it’s not a time for children from different homes to get together to play. This is tough, but it is important.”
Mayor Clark acknowledges many sacrifices have already been made, calling for citizens to reach out to any who may be having a difficult time right now. He suggests it is important to not get overwhelmed by the numbers, after the sobering COVID-19 projections from public health officials were released over the last couple of days, but notes they are there to remind us how much our actions matter.
