From the PS/GE agreement to emerging AI threats, how secure are the SGEU bargaining units? Here, we look at the specific legal gaps leaving over 20,000 of our members exposed to modern “stealth” privatization.

Privatization is no longer just about an employer firing a custodial crew and hiring a private contractor. Today, privatization is a shape-shifting strategy. It happens incrementally, through administrative loopholes, technical restructuring and changing procurement rules.

To see how well SGEU is protected against these modern tactics, SGEU put our largest agreement – the PS/GE Agreement which covers our 11,000 members – through a rigorous legal test.

The results show that even our strongest units are highly exposed.

SGEU reviewed Article 19 (Employment Security) of the PS/GE contract against established arbitration standards. Here is what we found:

• Is there a Hard Prohibition? [FAIL]

Article 19.4 (C) states that where job loss occurs, the parties “may explore” retraining or redeployment. The word “may” is permissive, not mandatory. There is no hard rule banning the employer from contracting out. It is process protection only.

• Is there Proactive Union Notice? [FAIL]

While individual employees get a 60-day notice if their position is abolished, there is no clause requiring the employer to notify the union before a contracting-out decision is finalized. The union is brought in reactively, after the choice has already been made.

On the positive side, the PS/GE agreement does not contain “skill-gap exceptions” or historical carve-outs” (which intentionally weaken other contracts), but the overall conclusion is undeniable: Article 19 provides process protection only, not outcome protection.

Employers are actively using forms of privatization that our older contract language was never designed to stop:

• Attrition and gapping (Stealth privatization): When a member retires or quits, the employer leaves the position vacant (“gapping”) and quietly passes the workload onto external private contractors. Because no active employee was laid off, traditional contracting-out clauses are never triggered.
• Procurement and tendering: Employees are bypassing unions by labelling work as a “new program” or a “purchased service” rather than historical bargaining unit work. By altering RFP (Request for Proposal) criteria, they shift public money to private entities right under our noses.
• Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) & Alternative Service Delivery (ASD): These models lock governments into 25 to 35 year contracts with private corporations to build and operate infrastructure, slowly eroding the footprint of the public service.

The next frontier: Artificial Intelligence

We also face an entirely new threat: Artificial Intelligence

While some agreements, like the SAHO/SGEU Health Providers Bargaining Unit, contain a “Technological Change” clause (Article 24), these provisions were drafted long before modern AI, automated processing and digital outsourcing platforms existed. 

Currently, these tech clauses only force the employer to “consult” with us before replacing a worker with an algorithm. Once again, it protects the process, but lets the employer eliminate the position.

How SGEU compares nationally

When we look across Canada, unions like the BCGEU (British Columbia General Employees’ Union) and MGEU (Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union) have evolved. SGEU remains behind.

Where other provincial unions have negotiated 4 to 6 month mandatory notice periods, join review boards with the power to delay privatization and strict integration into procurement rules, SGEU agreements largely leave the door open.

Recognizing a problem is the first step to fixing it. SGEU has a long road ahead but we will continue to fight for our collective rights.