Canadian Federal Government Downsizing 2012 Downsizing is continuing with more than 5000 federal government employees are

just notified that they could lose their jobs. According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada employees in about 23 departments of federal government could lose their jobs in the running year. This major downsizing can affect various performance parameters of employees and one of them is employee relations. Employee Relations Management: Employee Relations include their relationships at work to enhance their productivity and job satisfaction. This includes employees participation in decision, employee-employer relationship, conflict resolution and collective bargaining. . The employees of federal government in Canada are restricted to their bargaining rights and ability to strike when the downsizing is underway. This makes it easy for the government to lay off the employees easily but increases the dissatisfaction among employees. The least job security affects the employees productivity too. The effects of downsizing can also be seen on survivors. The remaining employees will work under the threat of being dismissed from job anytime and this affecting their ability to work properly. This result in high absences, low quality work and employees prefer to leave the organizations before they are asked to leave (high turnover). Employee relations must be managed well in the time of downsizing in order to keep the quality of work from the survivors. Various techniques can be adopted in order to encourage the survivors. These tactics can be maintaining interpersonal relations, communicate effectively; building teams, keeping positive morale and recognizing the work, and helping people grow and develop. By managing the good employee relations at work the federal government can get the following advantages:

1. Reduces turnover, means savings in recruitment/ selection cost. 2. Greater commitment means quality output / reduces rejections. 3. More open communication, means better understanding. 4. The level of industrial conflict low means productivity up. 5. Provides numerical flexibility, means easy workforce adjustments. 6. Easy introduction of new practices means better output. 7. Increased job satisfaction level, means smooth workflow. 8. Shared goals better understanding of business. 9. Shared values agreed values binding the employees. 10. Shared learning continuous improvements. 11. Shared effort better teamwork. 12. Shared communication effective communication References Cooke, William. (2008). The Effects of Workplace Climates on Employee Performance Capacities. A Knowledge-based Perspective. 1 (1), 2-44. Gary Dessler (2000). Human Resources Management. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentic Hall. 249289. Public Service Alliance of Canada. http://www.psac-afpc.com/default.aspx?l=1. [Accessed 22 July 2012] Government Downsizing Canada Does it Wrong Again!! Attack Defend Disrupt.htm.

http://attackdefenddisrupt.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/government-downsizing-canada-does-it-wrongagain-15/. [Accessed 22 July 2012]