Jobs on the city payroll that have been vacant for two years could be eliminated if city council accepts the recommendations of its corporate services and economic development committee.
Under the measures, voted in by the committee yesterday, managers would have to make the case for keeping a position open if a suitable candidate had not been found in the specified time.
City treasurer Marian Simulik told the committee there are only 40 such vacancies among 14,905 city employees.
Clarence Dungey, spokesman for city union CUPE Local 503, advised the committee to seek solutions from city managers instead of voting in the new rules.
“There are all sorts of reasons why people retire, good and bad, and there are all sorts of reasons why vacancies aren’t filled, good and bad, but they all have one thing in common, and that’s an impact on service to the community,” he said.
