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News release
October 15, 2004
PSAC negotiating
teams recommend rejection of Treasury Board offer
One more settlement negotiated
OTTAWA –
Pending the results of membership votes, the Public Service Alliance
of Canada (PSAC) has concluded negotiations with Treasury Board.
After a delay of more than 12 hours, Treasury Board finally tabled
an offer with the union at 1l:00 a.m. on Friday morning. According
to PSAC National President Nycole Turmel, the union negotiating
teams for the Program and Administrative Services Group (Table 1),
the Technical Services Group (Table 3) and the Education and Library
Science Group (Table 5) have now completed their review of the respective
offers.
“Our Table 1 and 3 negotiating teams are unanimously recommending
that our members reject the employer’s last offer,”
says Turmel. “While they may have been prepared to accept
Treasury Board’s monetary offer of 2.5%, 2.25%, 2.4% and 2.5%
over a four-year agreement, they are not willing to accept the employer’s
demands for concessions.”
Some of the issues that have not been satisfactorily resolved include
the partial loss of the terminable allowance for members at the
Canadian Grain Commission who stand to lose up to $3,000 a year;
the loss of $2,000 a year in an enforcement allowance for fisheries
officers, the lump sum payments, instead of a salary increase, that
Treasury Board is insisting be imposed on many PSAC members who
were transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as
the loss of a day is a day for family-related and other leaves.
“The issues that have forced our teams to recommend rejection
of the offers could easily have been resolved by the employer,”
indicates Turmel. “Our teams are disgusted, and so am I, with
the employer’s final offer and the lack of respect Treasury
Board has shown for our members, their employees.”
The Table 5 negotiating team has reached a tentative agreement with
the employer and is recommending its acceptance. It is a four-year
agreement with increases of 2.5% in 2003, 2.25% in 2004, 2.4% in
2005 and 2.5% in 2006 as well as some specific gains such as allowances
and professional development. In addition, language has been negotiated
on protection for whistleblowers, the PSAC’s Social Justice
Fund and a renewal of the Joint Learning Program until the subsequent
collective agreement is signed. These last three gains will be applied
to all PSAC’s agreements with Treasury Board.
“Ours is a democratic union,” says Turmel. “The
tentative agreement for Table 5 will be presented to our members
with a recommendation to accept. The employer’s offer to Tables
1 and 3, together with our teams’ recommendations for rejection,
will also be presented to the members.”
Turmel confirms that “while these votes are taking place,
the union is still in a legal strike position but we will suspend
general strike action.”
“I want to thank all of our members who have taken strike
action, our negotiating teams and our staff. Without their support
and dedication, we would not have moved the employer as far as we
have.”
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For information: Louise
Laporte, PSAC Communications (613)
560-4287 or (613) 558-4975 (cell)
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