Employees of the North Shore Regional 911 Center, employed by the Essex County Sheriff, are hereby transferred to the State 911 Department. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, or any change in title or duties resulting from the transfer, all employees shall be transferred without interruption of service, without impairment of seniority, retirement or other statutory rights, without loss of accrued rights to holidays, sick leave, and vacation, and without reduction in compensation or salary grade. Such employees shall not be considered new employees for salary, wage, tax, health insurance, Medicare or any other federal or state purposes. Upon transfer, the Secretary of Administration and Finance shall become the Employer within the meaning of General Laws Chapter 150E, and the transferred employees shall become members of statewide collective bargaining unit 2, as certified by the department of labor relations. Any and all obligations under agreements pertaining to the transferred employees immediately before the transfer date shall expire. Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer upon any transferred employee any right not held immediately before the date of transfer to the State 911 Department or to prohibit any reduction of salary grade, transfer, reassignment, suspension, discharge, layoff or abolition of position not prohibited before such date.