182 employees at Summerside CRA office receive relocation letters

Staff members at the Canada Revenue Agency in Summerside will see a lot of changes in their work and their staffing.

Today, the CRA said 182 relocation letters were given to permanent full-time staff in Summerside which means the work they do now will no longer be done there.

The agency launched aService Renewal Initiativeon Thursday which they say will help keep up with the increase of Canadians filing taxes online.

• CRA to expand Summerside tax centre

A representative with the CRA said the impacted employees can move to a different tax centre in the country, or apply for a new position in Summerside.

In an email, they said "While this renewal will result in a number of affected positions, including term positions, it is expected that amajorityof employees will either retain their jobs, be offered a different job, or be offered a relocation opportunity. Impacted employees are encouraged to apply on staffing processes for the new positions coming into their offices, some of which may be at the higher classification level."

CRA says employees will have six months to decide whether they want to move.

70 full-time equivalent positions will be added, which the CRA said will create more opportunities for temporary employees to apply for permanent jobs.

Union concerned

Bob Campbell, the National President of the Union of Taxation Employees which represents CRA workers said they have many unanswered questions.

He said although there may be 70 full-time equivalent positions coming in, he questions how many temporary employees or work that is being done now will have to go as a result.

He said some of those 70 jobs might be filled by employees from other centres whoare going through the same process.

"I do not think, at this point, that I'd be looking optimistically at what's going on here."

'This is major stuff'

Campbell is concerned the union did not hear about the changes until 48 hours before the announcement.

"This is major stuff that's going on, affecting a lot of people's lives. And to be kept under wraps until they make an announcement, that's a scary thought."

He also thinks the timing of this announcement will create a lot of stress for employees.

"Four weeks before Christmas, not knowing how you're going to be impacted by the decision the government and your employers made is certain to put a lot of stress and anxiety on our members."

Campbell said the union has received many questions from Summerside employees and they are working on getting information so they can inform their members.

The CRA said these changes will start this fall and happen over the next two years.

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