N.L. relying too heavily on contractors amid Housing Corporation staff shortages, says union rep | CBC News

The president of the union local that represents Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) employees says the provincial government is relying too much on contracting to build housing, spending money that would be better used in addressing the organization’s staffing shortages.

Jerry Butler, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1860 — and an oil heat technician of nine years with the NHLC — says the work to address the need for more housing, never stops, and low staffing numbers make the job challenging and stressful.

“Our hands have been tied lately due to low staff levels. I realize this is a problem in a lot of different industries, I just feel like our management has let us down a little regarding filling those vacant roles,” Butler said Wednesday. “For what we have here, we’re doing our damndest.”

As staffing issues continue and the need for housing becomes more dire, Butler says the provincial government has become more and more reliant on hiring contractors to make sure work is completed.

That’s a problem, he says, as maintenance workers at the Housing Corporation could do much of the work that needs to be done to repair vacant units if they had the proper resources.

“It seems more and more and more [that] contracting has been, you know, happening more frequently. It’s become at an alarming rate, and it seems now with this current crisis that they’re trying to force it even further,” said Butler, whose local represents 210 workers.

“The money that’s going out the door for contracting could easily cover the positions that we have vacant.”

In a statement to CBC News, NLHC said repairs to units are made through a combination of staff and contractors. It said a plan to expedite repairs through an expression of interest to contractors was made to the union on Oct. 6.

“The union did not express any concerns in this meeting or at any time since. In fact, NLHC first learned of concerns through a news release issued by the union,” the statement said.

“We value our relationship with our union members and are disappointed these concerns were not raised for discussion. We remain committed to working with the union through regular employee relations processes.”

Butler said a key first step in addressing the housing crisis would be for government to address staffing at the Housing Corporation, which could help properties get built faster.

“We need boots on the ground. We need people to fill those positions,” he said.

“Skilled labourers would be great, [but] if not, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing has a history of training people to do these positions.”

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