October 7, 2008
News release
Union forces Parks Canada to cry uncle:
Employer concedes before court that contract workers are Parks employees
Halifax - Parks Canada Agency's strategy of replacing its unionized employees with contract workers has taken three steps back.
After years of insisting that three contract workers are employees of the employment contractor, Parks Canada Agency has finally been forced to admit that the three are, in fact, Parks Canada employees. At the request of the three workers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) provided support in taking one of their cases to the Tax Court as a test case after seeing an increase of members' work being handed over to contract workers.
“The Tax Court, on the consent of Parks Canada Agency, determined that these workers are employees of the Agency,” said PSAC National President John Gordon. “This means that their working conditions and treatment at work should be the same as those of our union members working for Parks Canada.”
The PSAC is currently in collective bargaining with Parks Canada Agency and has been fighting against contracting out of unionized jobs to the private sector. Parks Canada has transferred work done at one location in Halifax to Citadel Regimental Association. PSAC and the affected employees believe that these jobs were still being managed by Parks Canada, and pursued the position before the Tax Court that Parks Canada was the actual employer.
“We strongly believe that attempts by employers like Parks Canada Agency to sell off jobs to the lowest bidder and then continue to manage that work must stop,” said Jeannie Baldwin, the PSAC executive vice-president for the Atlantic region. “We'll do what we need to do to defend our members' work.”
Employees of Halifax Citadel Regimental Association are paid inferior salaries, as much as $30,000 a year less than PSAC members doing the same jobs.
“We can be proud of the representation we've provided these workers,” said Daniel Kinsella, President of the National Component of the PSAC. “It's a real win for all Parks contract workers who are struggling to improve their work situation. These workers should be members of PSAC with full rights to union benefits and salaries. When federal agencies and departments hive off work to the private sector through dubious contract arrangements and attempt to absolve themselves of employer responsibilities, it is our role as the union to challenge and push back. This time we've won a great victory which really ought to have a chilling effect on further outsourcing of public service work. The employer shouldn't be surprised when we keep putting this issue on the bargaining table.”
Baldwin said that the PSAC will move forward on this matter. “The Tax Court was just the first step in our fight back against Parks Canada Agency's contracting out of PSAC members' work. This fight is just beginning.”
PSAC and its components, the National Component and Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, represent about 4,500 workers at Parks Canada Agency. Over the past 13 years, Parks jobs handed over to the private sector to provide the same services have increased significantly across the country. The union is committed to defending its members' work, so that Canadians get the quality public services they deserve.
For information:
Joselito Calugay, PSAC communications officer, 613-560-4235 or 613-293-9324
51-071008-e
Date Modified : 2010/01/29
