The legislative assembly wrapped up its fall sitting last week. The UNW watches these proceedings very closely as the conversations and decisions that take place there directly affect all our members.
During this session, a theme emerged about how our government operates as MLAs gave voice to what the union has been saying for years 鈥� the people at the top who make the decisions are not listening to the people who will be most impacted by those decisions.
Or worse: they are listening, but they鈥檙e choosing not to take action when they don鈥檛 like what they hear.
Our healthcare system has been suffering for years under management that refuses to listen to its workers. This isn鈥檛 news; the union has been shouting this from the rooftops for over a decade. While it鈥檚 been heartening to hear MLAs picking up what our members have been laying down, it鈥檚 disappointing to hear cabinet keep repeating the same old responses.
Yes, we know that senior management is 鈥渓istening.鈥� We know that they鈥檝e tied up a lot of our healthcare resources in 鈥渨orking groups鈥� and 鈥渏oint committees鈥� and 鈥渆mployee engagement.鈥� What we don鈥檛 know is what they鈥檙e doing with any of the feedback they鈥檝e received from their workers.
In fact, many of the policies and programs that the NWT Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) has rolled out recently go against what we know our healthcare members have been saying. It seems that the GNWT鈥檚 definition of 鈥渓istening鈥� is just smiling and nodding.
When we talk about poor workplace morale, one of the main things we hear about from our members is the feeling that decision-makers are disconnected from operational realities, and don鈥檛 want to listen to anyone outside the senior management bubble.
Workers are tired of lip service. They鈥檙e tired of ministers gushing about how important employee feedback is and how many engagements they鈥檙e doing because, at the end of the day, none of that feedback seems to be resulting in positive change.
So while Premier R.J. Simpson might be really excited about his new 鈥淗ealth Care System Sustainability Unit,鈥� workers (and their union) aren鈥檛 holding their breath. We鈥檝e seen time and time again that organizing a huddle of senior managers to evaluate the efficiencies of their peers doesn鈥檛 work.
Take, for example, the GNWT鈥檚 2024 budget exercise, where they surveyed employees on how to find efficiencies and cut costs. Somehow, despite what we hear regularly from members about the operational bottlenecks being caused by top-heavy management and not enough program staff, the survey resulted in the elimination of front-line positions and the addition of more high-level senior managers.
It often seems like the number one priority of our top bureaucrats is to protect their own and maintain a status quo that isn鈥檛 benefiting anyone because real change makes them uncomfortable.
Somehow, a culture has emerged within our public service that sees accountability as an admission of failure, to be avoided at all costs. This attitude that senior management always knows best means that officials 鈥� especially at the NTHSSA 鈥� are allowing departments to fly off the rails rather admit that they took a wrong turn that needs to be corrected.
Would you have more trust in the driver who stops regularly to check the map and ask for directions if something doesn鈥檛 seem right, or the driver who insists they know where they鈥檙e going even when the landmarks make it clear they鈥檙e headed down a dead end?
Instead of encouraging meaningful input from its workforce, the GNWT has fostered a culture where workers are discouraged from participating honestly. Just look at how much 鈥渁nonymous鈥� feedback MLAs and media outlets receive from frustrated workers.
As a union, we regularly hear from public service members who are hesitant to provide honest feedback to their employer because they don鈥檛 see the point, or they are afraid of management retaliation. They鈥檙e frustrated because they don鈥檛 know what to do. They don鈥檛 see a path toward affecting the change that needs to happen.
We share these frustrations. Listening to MLAs and cabinet ministers go back and forth during question period, it seems that there are no obvious ways to hold senior bureaucrats accountable for anything.
It appears that the question of who is actually running our government is a sensitive topic for cabinet, as ministers quickly move to shut down any attempts by regular MLAs to find out where the buck actually stops.
It鈥檚 important for ministers to trust their deputies to do their jobs, but it鈥檚 equally important for ministers to provide the direction. They were elected by the people of the NWT for that very purpose, and it鈥檚 disheartening to see bold ideas and promises of change suddenly disappear when an MLA enters cabinet.
The tail has been wagging the dog for far too long. If our elected leaders are serious about fixing a broken system and creating positive change, they need to start holding senior management accountable rather than maintaining a safety net for incompetence and inefficiency.
