Many Fredericton city hall employees are dissatisfied with their jobs and management, according to a confidential survey obtained by CBC News.

More than half of the employees who participated in the survey conducted by Ipsos Reid last fall said city managers do not do a good job communicating. And a large majority said that staff are not consulted about changes at city hall and that reforms aren't well managed.

Respondents also said managers don't appreciate them, don't recognize their contributions and don't provide feedback. And only one in five said people are promoted for the right reasons.

No one from the city would comment on the survey's findings.

Firefighters rank low in morale

The survey showed widespread dissatisfaction among municipal employees, but in many categories the fire department had the lowest levels of satisfaction in the city.

Only 13 per cent of employees there said morale is good, while 81 per cent said disagreeing with management could hurt a person's career.

Another 13 per cent said they had confidence in senior management; eight per cent said managers seek their opinions and suggestions and six per cent said managers act on them.

Doug LeBlanc, president of the Fredericton Firefighters' Association, said Philip Toole, the city's fire chief, is aware of the issues and is working on solutions.

Almost two-thirds of the 664 permanent city employees responded to the survey.

The margin of error was 2.8 per cent points 19 times out of 20.