Hartford, Conn. (AP) — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Thursday gave his negotiators and union leaders more time to discuss $2 billion in labor savings, putting off — for now — issuing the threatened first round of layoff notices to about 4,000 Connecticut workers a day before they were to go out.
The governor's senior adviser, Roy Occhiogrosso, said Malloy is willing to wait "a couple of days" for the talks to continue.
Meanwhile, approximately 100 people, mostly non-union managers, are expected to lose their state jobs Friday. Those cuts are due to various state agency consolidations included in the two-year, $40.1 billion budget the Democratic governor signed into law on Wednesday.
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Occhiogrosso said the governor's decision to hold off from issuing the first batch of 4,000 notices does not necessarily mean the administration and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, the group representing 13 state employee unions, are close to reaching an agreement.
"I don't want to characterize it as that," he said. "But I think you can take it as a positive sign that both sides are still talking and I think that is how he (Malloy) perceives it."
Last week, Malloy's chief negotiator, Mark Ojakian, said he hoped a deal could be reached this week. Occhiogrosso called Ojakian "an optimistic guy."
Matt O'Connor, a SEBAC spokesman, said the delay in layoff notices does not mean the two sides are close.
"It reflects the governor's recognition that we should have the space that allows us to continue the discussions," O'Connor said.
Malloy and the unions are under pressure to reach an agreement on how to save $2 billion in labor savings, including concessions, because the new budget that takes effect July 1 assumes those savings. If a deal can't be reached, Malloy has said that "thousands and thousands" of layoffs would be necessary, as well as other cuts, to make up the difference.
For every 1,000 workers, Malloy expects $100 million would be saved. However, the governor has said he hopes to reach a deal and avoid the large-scale job cuts.
In a statement to state employees, SEBAC leaders said the coalition remains committed to reaching "a mutually agreeable settlement on the role of the state workers in the current budget framework." SEBAC said layoffs would only reduce access to public services and delay the state's economic recovery by adding more workers to the unemployment rolls.
The first round of layoffs was originally planned for Friday to abide by an eight-week notification requirement in some labor contracts. The notices would be effective July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
Notification requirements vary. Many state employee unions require six weeks of notice.
Occhiogrosso said Malloy understands the lives of 100 workers will be adversely affected on Friday. The new budget consolidates 81 agencies, boards and commissions into 57.
"The governor is committed to downsizing government, but is not unaware, even with 100 positions, that people's lives are being impacted," he said. "It is not a day that he enjoys.
"People losing their jobs is not something to be celebrated. It is the reality of the beginning of downsizing government and the reductions from the consolidations, those will continue over the next few years. This is just the beginning."
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