News Release

March 1, 2004

PSAC organizes massive strike vote

OTTAWA – Labour unrest in the federal public sector is growing as almost 100,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members across the country will be voting on strike action starting March 25.

“Paul Martin may be trying to put a new face on the Liberal government, but it has been business as usual at the bargaining table,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “At the start of this round of bargaining, the government seemed to be interested in conducting negotiations in a more serious manner. Unfortunately, this government’s style of negotiating is leading to confrontation.”

The union has been in talks with Treasury Board since last September with virtually no progress as Treasury Board negotiators have been at the table without a mandate for months. On February 25th the employer finally tabled a wage offer of 1.75%, 1.25% and 1.25% in each of three years, an offer which was conditional on roll-backs of other benefits in some of the agreements. In one case, the employer has indicated that any other improvements in the agreement would be deducted from their wage offer.

“Economic increases are important but there is more to this round of bargaining,” explains Turmel. “Our members are working under a cloud of uncertainty with the government’s program review that could result in cuts to public services and jobs. This situation makes our demands for improved job security and better job protection for term employees vital.”

PSAC members in the Operational Services group were expecting the government to respond to the results of a joint union/employer pay study conducted by Morneau-Sobeco which showed an average pay gap of 20% between the government’s wages and those in the private sector. So far during negotiations, Treasury Board negotiators have refused to address the wage gap they found during the study.

“The government has signalled that it wants a better relationship with federal public sector workers, but actions speak louder than words,” says Turmel. “The Treasury Board President has declared that he wants to protect whistleblowers immediately, yet, when asked to agree to the union’s bargaining demand for whistleblowing protection, his negotiators simply say that legislation is coming. The problem is that the Liberals have been saying that a whistleblowing law is coming since 1993.”

“The government is managing to alienate a huge section of the federal public sector,” warns Turmel. “The union’s 23,000 members at the Canada Revenue Agency gave their negotiating team a very strong strike mandate last December. Negotiations have gone nowhere for PSAC members at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who will be taking a strike vote starting March 8th. And the pattern is continuing in negotiations with Parks Canada. For a new Prime Minister, it’s not a very effective way to improve labour relations.”

Strike vote balloting will take place between March 25 and April 28. The workers are in the Program and Administrative Services, Operational Services and Technical Services groups. Their agreements expired between late June and early August, 2003.

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For information: Louise Laporte, PSAC Communications, (613) 560-4287

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