O'Connor cancels civilian layoffs at Goose Bay base

Federal Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has stepped in to stop civilian layoffs at an airbase in central Labrador.

The terms of a 2006 employment contract withSerco, which provides support services at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, "will not be altered,"a statement issued from O'Connor's office said Wednesday.

Serco manager Dusty Miller had said about10 civilian workers would be losing their jobs because of a decreased need for service from the military.

"This contract is not where it's a labour pool where DND tells us they have so many carpenters, so many electricians, so many air traffic controllers, or so many weathermen they ask us to do so many tasks, and those tasks are ours to manage," Miller told CBC News earlier this week.

"When they say they want less tasks to be done, then our management challenge is to figure out what does that translate to in terms of people."

But O'Connor said no layoffs are warranted.

Miller said DND had requested less work because there are not yet anyAllied forces in training at the base this season.

Activity at 5 Wing Goose Bay has been reduced in recent years, following the withdrawal of various Allied partners who had done low-level flight training over Labrador. Since then, the military and the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay have been marketing the base facilities for specialized training.