Nova Scotia's restructuring of housing agencies leads to job cuts, union outcry

The agency says the move was made in order to centralized certain processes, the union questioned why make the reduction in a housing crisis.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency is eliminating 32 positions and adding 25 more for a net loss of seven as part of restructuring that has drawn concern from the union representing 11 of the workers, arguing that this isn’t the right time as the province deals with a housing crisis. The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) said in a release it condemned the decision to eliminate the jobs, originally 34 but reduced to 32 after two employees vacated their positions, questioning whether the move is for service optimization or part of government spending reductions.

NSGEU president Sandra Mullen said that the announcement has left many of its members shocked, especially with what she described as a workplace under strain and facing collective bargaining barriers. Pre-existing labour issues Mullen told The Chronicle Herald that on top of recent restructuring, the union is still working through the province’s decision to merge five regional housing agencies into one for the entire province. Before the merger, employees were represented by different unions based on their job classification and region.

The unions are working through the labour board process of a runoff vote to determine representation for the single agency, the result of which is expected this year. According to Mullen, employees at the agency have gone more than two years without a collective agreement as that process plays out, leaving her to question why they went forward with such major changes before that process was resolved. Agency says changes are to improve service Related PCs move to give Nova Scotia's housing minister 'backstop' powers to intervene in Halifax housing Why Halifax decided it's not time to force developers to include affordable housing in their builds However, the housing agency says the restructuring isn’t meant to reduce costs, it’s meant to improve service quality and speed.

According to interim CEO Vicki Elliot, none of the positions being cut are frontline roles, with the eliminations focused on middle management and reducing redundancies. The broader plan for the agency, she said, is to centralize functions like processing applications, income reviews and collections. They are also creating new “property hub” manager positions, combining client services and maintenance of properties.

“Right now, we have a number of managers that manage client services. We also have a number of managers that manage maintenance,” Elliot said. “Those two functions are inextricably linked.”

Following the recent budget, Crown corporations like the agency, as well as other provincial entities, were mandated to reduce labour costs by three per cent annually. Despite this, Elliot said the eliminations are not meant to meet that goal. “This was never about cost cutting for us,” she said.

“This was about repositioning ourselves to provide better service and to get people into homes faster.” Those affected will be offered severance based on length of employment. Elliot said affected employees will be encouraged to apply for newly created roles.

“We’re very confident that people are set up to be successful in the new roles that we’re creating,” Elliot said. “They have the experience, they have the skills that will lead them into these positions.” Fears of potential impact on tenants While the agency said no frontline positions would be eliminated, Mullen said those being cut have important jobs overseeing client services and supporting an already short-staffed office.

She said union members are reporting vacant positions going unfilled for long periods, leaving remaining staff to take on the load in addition to their usual work. “In Nova Scotia, housing is in a crisis. We have folks looking for housing, we have huge wait lists,” said Mullen.

“Government has not invested in the stock of public housing in this province for far too long. It’s led to this.” She also has concerns regarding the agency’s stance that eliminating supervisors responsible for something like client services would make services better for tenants, saying it didn’t make sense with the growing demand.

“I can’t imagine,” she said when asked about the move. Goals and disbelief The agency said the restructuring is designed to get people into public housing faster, with Elliot saying the changes will be evaluated based on vacancy rates, turnaround time and applicant wait times. Mullen said the union needs to see it to believe it.

“You’d have to show me the numbers,” she said.