The P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees says the Liberal government is using the public service as a scapegoat for its own mismanagement of public funds.

At a recent fiscal update, treasurer Wes Sheridan said the private sector had borne the brunt of the recession and suggested the civil service would take a hit as the province struggles with a forecast deficit of $85 million.

The president of the union, Shelley Ward, said the government's warning to public service employees is misplaced.

She said Sheridan had failed to consider that the public sector had been cut back for years through wage rollbacks, program renewals and layoffs.

Ward said the government should blame its poor decisions for the province's current financial state.

Sheridan has said that more than 20 per cent of provincial government employees will be eligible to retire in the next 18 months and suggested some of those jobs may not be filled.