News release

August 18, 2004

PSAC calls for Treasury Board President to do his job

OTTAWA – It's time for Treasury Board President Reg Alcock to come out from behind the curtain and stop pretending he's not involved in negotiations in the federal public sector.

“On July 21 st , I spoke with Mr. Alcock who indicated that neither he nor I should get involved in negotiations but should leave the job to our professional negotiators,” says Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Nycole Turmel.   “Following that conversation, the union was advised of a situation which clearly contradicted his statement to me.”

Sometime before we spoke, Alcock, either as President of the Treasury Board or as part of the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee, had intervened and rejected a collective agreement negotiated by PSAC with the Office of the Auditor General and ratified by the members of the bargaining unit.

In an August 17 th article in the Ottawa Citizen , Treasury Board officials were quoted as saying that “the department has nothing to do with negotiations for separate employers and any decision is up to the committee of Treasury Board Ministers”.

Turmel has written to Alcock today asking him to reverse the decision in the case of the agreement with the Auditor General's office.   She also wants him to publicly declare that separate employers, such as the OAG, Parks Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency and the like, have the ability to negotiate without interference from Treasury Board or the Cabinet Committee. (Read the letter)

“If the Treasury Board President wants to involve himself in negotiations, he should do so openly”, suggests Turmel.   “I have asked him yet again to meet to discuss the state of negotiations in the entire federal public sector.   We should be discussing overall mandates and frameworks for settlements as a prelude to resolving the outstanding collective agreements at the bargaining table.”

Turmel pointed out in her letter that Canadians have a right to expect Alcock to take his responsibilities seriously and that his failure to do so is the cause of the current strike at the Parks Canada Agency.

Over 130,000 PSAC members at the Canada Revenue Agency, Treasury Board and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could be joining Parks Canada workers on the picket line by the end of the summer if settlements are not reached soon.

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For information:    

                              Denis Boivin, communications co-ordinator,                                          (613) 560-4280 or (613) 324-0522 (cell)