cette

AFL set for shorter hours campaign
— page

Wednesday, October 2, 1985
eau s
Newsstand Price 40° Vol. 48, No. 36

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_Socred cuts wreak
‘chaos in services |

Cutbacks in social services have “created
a system of chaos” that is affecting the living

_ : conditions of thousands of people in B.C.
C | O n S S ce S a d ce and the working conditions of thousands of

public sector workers employed to deliver t
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those services, the B.C. Government

~ Employees Union charged in a major report
or Nov. summit |="
a “In May of 1983, the Social Credit

government and Bill Bennett won their
third term in office. . .promising policies of
‘moderate restraint’ ’’, the study states in an
an introduction. “But in spite of numerous
placations, the provincial government was
to launch some of the most draconian “res-
traint”’ measures to be seen anywhere in the
nation. And a promise was broken.”

““A Promise Broken” is also the title of
the comprehensive 66-page study, prepared
by the union’s Social Services Restraint
Committee, on the basis of interviews with
employees of the Ministry of Human
Resources and several non-government
social services agencies. In addition, 700
employees in three ministries filled out a
detailed questionnaire on the effects of res-
traint on their work.

The study cites figures to show that, des-
pite substantial increases in the demand for
social workers, the number employed by
the ministry has declined by 12 per cent
since the July, 1983 Social Credit budget.

Conversely, however, there has been a
significant increase in the caseloads main-
tained by social workers, with most carrying
caseloads ranging from 200 to 400 clients.

The result, says the study, is that many
“front-line social workers” are “in a state of
mass nervous breakdown” and are forced
to deal only with the most pressing, crisis-
level cases, and to leave aside any notion of
preventive action.

Significantly, the statistics on staff cut-
backs shown in the study reveal that only in
two areas have there been staff increases:
probation officers and financial support
workers. In the case of the financial support
workers, it notes, even that increase has
been far short of the need, given the massive
increase in the numbers of people on wel-
fare.

“At a time when unemployment hovers
at an official 14 per cent in this province
(much higher if the hidden unemployed are
considered) and as a consequence the

COOPERATION OR CONFRONTATION? demand on social services is at peak propor-

tions, the government has decided to res-

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Support

— page 13 —

: . s train public spending on the programs
4 Senior Ss meet hits customarily designed to alleviate some of
= the hardships of these conditions,” the

Cuts in allowances report charges. “So much for the promise of

— page 11 — Four- page supplement in Ss ide a papa aa ies on those most in

see BCGEU page 16