Staff at the Saskatoon office of Legal Aid have more than enough work and could use extra help and instead is dealing with layoffs.
That’s according to the vice-president of CUPE local 1949, which represents Legal Aid lawyers and administrative staff.
Deb Hopkins says six Legal Aid employees in the Saskatoon office were given layoff notices this week and three lawyer positions within the organization are not being filled, while thousands of files are being farmed out to private lawyers.
Two eligibility officer jobs will move to a call centre being set up in Regina.
Hopkins explains that these officers have first point-of-contact with clients, so instead of dealing with Legal Aid in the closest community, they will be dealing with a centralized call centre.
Hopkins believes contracting out the Legal Aid work and privatization will have a negative impact on their clients, who are the most vulnerable and marginalized people in the province.