Urgent action: call your MP today!

August 23rd We have been informed that the Federal Liberal Caucus is meeting this Tuesday and Wednesday (August 24 - 25) in Ottawa.  This coincides with the fact that the Table 2 Conciliation Board hearing begins tomorrow and Parks Canada members will be on their twelfth day of strike. If you are dissatisfied with how collective bargaining is currently going for the different bargaining units (Parks, CRA, TB, or CFIA) we strongly encourage all PSAC Members who live in ridings with Liberal MPs to URGENTLY contact your MP *today* at their Ottawa office. If you don't know their contact information, please visit this website (link to parl.gc.ca opens in new window) and enter your postal code. Be sure to call your MP's parliamentary office in Ottawa as many of them are already there in preparation for tomorrow's meeting. When you contact your MP you can let them know that you are a part of their constituency, that you are unhappy with the lack of progress in collective bargaining with the public service, and that you would like them to commit that they will raise this issue during their Liberal Caucus. Let them know that you will follow-up with them at a specific time and date (e.g. on Friday) to find out what actions they took in support of your request. Please let the Vancouver RO know if you are successful in getting in touch with their MP's and if any committed to action, then we can keep track of what impact we are making.

News: Higher security could trigger rebuilding

Ottawa's model national building code on track for implementation in 2009

A national security code, contemplated for all federal government offices and facilities, could precipitate a wave of reinforcement and modifications at buildings across the country by the end of this decade.

The federal government, one of Canada's largest users of office space both as owner and tenant, has drafted a framework for the code on the advice of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The guidelines could be ready by late 2009.

Federal government office buildings, embassies, airport immigration facilities, customs buildings at border crossings and taxation, passport and employment insurance offices typify premises that would be subject to the new code.

Read more at theglobeandmail.com (free registration required - sorry)

PSAC Scholarship Program - Deadline August 15th

In early 2004, the Public Service Alliance of Canada revised the PSAC Scholarship Program.

The PSAC Scholarship Program is offering the following 12 scholarships to PSAC members and their children for 2004:

• one $4,000 Groulx-PSAC National scholarship;
• two $3,000 Groulx-PSAC National scholarships;
• the J.R. (Joe) Power $2,000 Scholarship;
• one $1,000 PSAC National Scholarship;
• one $1,000   scholarship for each region ( Atlantic , Quebec , National Capital Region, Ontario , Prairies, British Columbia and the North).  

Awarding of the scholarships is based on a 1200 word essay, scholastic achievement, and community and union involvement.   The subject of the essay is determined in January of each year.   Three out of the eight $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to PSAC members (if applications are received) who are returning to university, college or an institute of higher learning on a full-time basis.

Read more Details on the national website

Call for Volunteers: KickstART2

Be part of something big. Calling all community-minded, festival-going, art-loving, theatre-supporting volunteers.

KickstART2, Canada's only international Festival of Disability Arts and Culture is coming to town, and we're looking for enthusiastic, community mind people to help out.

Taking place from September 16 to 19, 2004, at the Roundhouse Community Centre at the corner of Davie and Pacific in Vancouver kickstART2 will feature theatre, music, dance, visual art and workshops with some of the leaders in the international disability arts movement. KickstART2 challenges us all to redefine our understanding of what it means to be an artist, and a creative, valued member of the community.

Read more on the Human Rights Committee page.

Support Striking Parks Workers: Call/Fax/Email your MP

August16th "I very much hope that this strike is resolved as quickly as possible and on a fair basis for both sides." Paul Martin quoted in the Globe and Mail, August 16, 2004, page A4. Please take a minute to call, fax, or email your MP to show your support for Parks Canada workers ... enter your postal code, and find your MP here (link to parl.gc.ca opens in new window) and check out the pdf poster below. Prks_strike_pub_flyer-e.pdf

News Release: Conciliation board's report no help to PSAC negotiations with Parks

August 9th

OTTAWA – The Public Service Alliance of Canada announced today that it intends to return to the bargaining table next week in an attempt to avoid a national strike of the federal Parks service scheduled to begin on Friday, August 13th .

The union's decision comes on the heels of a conciliation board report released late yesterday. The report, which is not binding on the parties, provides recommendations on a number of outstanding issues still in dispute. It also serves to start the clock ticking for strike action - the union is in a legal strike position seven days following the release of the report.

Read more at psac.com (link opens in new window)

News Release: Same Sex Marriage in Nova Scotia

August 9th: NOVA SCOTIA RAINBOW ACTION PROJECT, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Same Sex Marriage in Nova Scotia

Three same-sex couples filed an application in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Friday, seeking to have same-sex marriage recognized in Nova Scotia.  Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP), a political action group working toward equality for all Nova Scotians, is supporting the case. 

The move follows success in similar cases in Ontario and British Columbia in 2003, and Quebec and recently the Yukon in 2004.  Two of the couples (one of whom is celebrating their 20th anniversary together this year) are seeking the right to marry here in Nova Scotia, and the third is seeking recognition of their same-sex marriage solemnized in Toronto in June 2003.  

Court dates have yet to be confirmed and a hearing of the issue is not expected for several weeks.  NSRAP expects that the federal government, which has exclusive jurisdiction over capacity to marry, will maintain its position from previous cases of not opposing the merits of the application. 

NSRAP urges the government of Nova Scotia not to waste public funds by opposing the application and to maintain its public position from 2003 that it will abide by any Court decision requiring it to act.

For information on NSRAP check the website http://nsrap.ns.ca (link opens in new window)

News Release: Public supports PSAC closing wage gap

OTTAWA – A poll finds almost three-quarters of people surveyed think that a 20-per-cent wage gap between blue collar workers in the federal government and their counterparts in the private and public sectors should be eliminated.

Seventy three per cent of respondents to a poll commissioned by the by the Public Service Alliance of Canada conducted by Environics said the wage gap should be eliminated, with 19 per cent saying it should be done immediately, 24 per cent saying over the next one to two years and 30 per cent over the next two to four years. Only 20 per cent said that the gap should not be eliminated.

“This clearly shows that we have strong public support for our bargaining demand to close a wage gap that was proven in a joint pay study commissioned by the Treasury Board and our union,” says Nycole Turmel, National President of the PSAC.  “Let’s hope the government is listening and heeds the call at the negotiating table.”

Read more here.

News: Parks Canada strike could disrupt hundreds of sites

OTTAWA - Visitors to national parks and monuments could see picket lines as early as this Friday, as Parks Canada faces a strike deadline.

Read more at cbc.ca.

Click here for up to the minute news. (link to news.google.ca opens in new window)

News: Parks Canada strike begins

Strike action began Thursday night in parks and campgrounds across the country after contract talks broke down between Parks Canada and its employees' union.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada — the union representing 4,800 parks employees — and government negotiators met Wednesday and Thursday in a last attempt to salvage a contract agreement.

Under a looming strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Friday, talks broke down as the union rejected the latest offer from the Parks Canada Agency.

"We tried hard to reach a tentative agreement by moving significantly from our previous position and acknowledging the recommendations of the conciliation board," said Jeannie Baldwin, the officer overseeing negotiations. "But the employer hasn't moved by much from their position in the last two days — basically they came, tabled a minor improvement on their pay position and shut down."

But campgrounds and parks will remain open to the public, said an official with Parks Canada.

"The parks will certainly remain open," said Gaby Fortin, director general for Western and Northern Canada. "If, for example, the gates of the parks were to be picketed, we would waive the fee and would just let people go through."

News Release: Parks Canada negotiation breaks down, workers begin strike actions

August 13th : For Immediate Release

BRITISH COLUMBIA –Contract talks between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Parks Canada Agency broke down an hour before the strike deadline as the parties failed to reach an agreement.  The 4,800 members of the union at Parks Canada have begun strike actions in various national parks and historic sites across the country.

"People can expect to see a withdrawal of service at National Parks and Historic Sites in B.C.," says Patty Ducharme, B.C. spokesperson for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.  "At this point, the public will still have access to all of the parks and historic sites.  In fact, it's a good time to visit a National Park, union members are not collecting fees and are simply waiving park visitors through the gates."  This could all change rapidly, says Ducharme, as the Union unrolls it's strike plan, they will employ a variety of tactics, up to and including a general strike with picket lines at each site.

The main stumbling block is wages, including the union’s demand to reduce a 20% wage gap between operational service workers at Parks Canada and their counterparts in the private and public sectors.  The employer’s offer was a mere 4% to address this issue.

Nationally, Ducharme says the strike by Parks Canada workers could just be the beginning.  More than 135,000 PSAC Members employed by the Federal Government, Canada Revenue Agency, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency could be following suit in the coming weeks.

Photos: PSAC members picket at Mount Revelstoke Nat'l Park

August 13th

Eric Dafoe, Jeanne Freer, Janice Sanseverino and other members of National Local 20106 picket on the Mount Revelstoke Parkway.

~Click for more~

News: Prime minister meets striking Parks Canada workers at Whitehorse stop

WHITEHORSE (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin waded into a picket line of striking Parks Canada employees Friday evening during a Yukon stopover in his five-day tour of northern Canada.

Martin was headed onto the site of a sports centre being built for the 2007 Canada Winter Games with federal help.

About 30 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, along with a handful of protesters opposed to Canadian involvement in the U.S. missile defence system, were picketing at the entrance.

Read the rest at canada.com (link opens in new window).

News: Strikers respect Acadians' fête

No picket lines disrupt world congress, but PM doesn't meet with parks workers

GRAND PRÉ, N.S. -- Closing ceremonies of the World Acadian Congress were twice blessed yesterday, first with glorious sunny skies and then with striking Parks Canada workers who chose to be on their best behaviour.

Prime Minister Paul Martin and his wife Sheila were among dozens of dignitaries and nearly 10,000 Acadian revellers from all over the world who attended the enormous outdoor Catholic mass at this historic site, scene of a bustling Acadian settlement from 1675 to 1755, when the British launched their expulsion.

As Mr. Martin arrived, some 30 strikers from the three Maritime provinces offered a silent protest. They carried welcoming placards that read "Bienvenue" on one side and "Appreciation is negotiation" on the other.

"In terms of the way they have acted, the gesture they did on what is a very important day for Canadians and Acadians shows just how dedicated they are," Mr. Martin said. "This day could have been somewhat different. They made it a successful day, and I'm very grateful to them."

Read the rest at theglobeandmail.com (link opens in new window)

Support Parks Workers @ Library Square!

August 16th : via email TO: All PSAC Locals - Downtown, National Officers, Regional Council Members Hi all, I'm sending you this email on behalf of your Rep, Monica Urrutia. Monica called me from the picket line at Library Square this morning, and asked me to share this message with you. Parks Canada Members working at RHQ have put up a picket line at both entrances of Library Square.  The picket line will be up until 3:00 p.m. today. Our members there would like to thank you all for your support shown on the line this morning.  Those of you that would like to join the picket line on breaks or before/after work are most welcome (it's good practice!).  Come on down and say hello, pass on your wishes of solidarity and support. Hope to see you there! In Solidarity, Joanna Schultz, Regional Representative

Parks Photo Gallery Updated

August 17th The Parks strike photo gallery has been updated! Pictures from Library Square in Vancouver and Revelstoke. Coming soon: Pacific Rim National Park and Fort Rodd Hill on Vancouver Island!

News: Treasury Board vetoes labour deal

The Martin government has further inflamed labour tensions with its largest union by turning down a negotiated contract settlement between the auditor general's office and its employees.

The deal between Canada's spending watchdog and 200 of its employees fell apart after the Treasury Board decided the tentative contract was too generous and would set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of public servants who are stalled in contracts talks that could escalate into full-blown strikes by the end of September, said Nycole Turmel, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) .

"We have never seen this happen before,' said Turmel "I've seen (governments) refuse a conciliator's report, but never an agreement that has been negotiated and accepted unanimously by both sides. It's the first time I've seen this.'

PSAC is considering whether to take legal action and file an unfair labour practices complaint.

The Treasury Board is the employer for most bureaucrats, and is responsible for collective bargaining with the 16 unions representing 171,000 public servants. Auditor General Sheila Fraser is an officer of Parliament and her office is a "separate employer' that is supposed to be independent from government and have more say than other departments in how it hires, fires and pays its employees.

The Treasury Board, however, has the authority to refuse a settlement negotiated by a separate employer, but it's a right it rarely exercises.

The move stunned those in labour circles, sparking speculation that the government plans to play hardball with its largest union, and wants all pay increases kept between 2.5 and three per cent a year.

PSAC is the largest union in the public service, and is currently locked in six major contract disputes with the government that could end with 130,000 public servants on strike by the end of September. The 4,800 workers at Parks Canada led the way with a national strike that began last Friday.

The deal with the auditor general's office was negotiated in early June and affected about one-third of the office's 600 employees.

The contract would have given these mostly office and clerical employees a 4.5-per-cent increase over two years. On top of that, some employees would have be in line for an additional increment to their maximum pay rate for their jobs of between $600 and $1,200 a year depending on the position. The union also negotiated five-day leave for same-sex marriage.

Letter to Reg Alcock from Nycole Turmel

By Hand

August 18, 2004

The Honourable Reg Alcock
President of the Treasury Board
L’Esplanade Laurier, 9th Floor
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R5

Dear Mr. Alcock:

As I write this, some 4,800 PSAC members employed by the Parks Canada Agency are in the sixth day of rotating strike action. I say employed by, because Parks Canada is the legal employer, but we both know that Parks secures its bargaining mandate from Treasury Board.

We also know, if Kathryn May quoted your officials correctly, that “the department has nothing to do with negotiations for separate employers and any decision is up to the committee of Treasury Board Ministers”. (“Liberals reject PSAC deal as too rich”, Ottawa Citizen, Tuesday, August 17, 2004).

Finally, we know that in your capacity as the President of the Treasury Board or as part of the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee, you have recently intervened and rejected a Collective Agreement reached between the PSAC and the Office of the Auditor General.

All of this calls into question statements made by you in our July 21, 2004 telephone conversation to the effect that the President of the Treasury Board and the President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada should not get involved in negotiations; that we both had professional negotiators, and that we should let them do the job.

If this is in fact the case, I think that you have an obligation to do two things. First, you need to reverse the decision to reject the collective agreement reached between the PSAC and the Office of the Auditor General.  And second, you need to clear the air, and publicly and forcefully assert that all Separate Employers have the ability to negotiate without interference from either Treasury Board Officials or the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee, and they will not have to find money to cover collective agreement provisions from savings elsewhere within the specific Agency or Separate Employer.

Alternatively, if you are to continue to exercise your authority to involve yourself in negotiations, you should do so openly. In this regard, I request yet again that we meet to discuss the state of negotiations in the entire federal public sector, and that we specifically discuss mandates and frameworks for settlement in overall terms, with the clear understanding that actual negotiations should take place at the bargaining table between the parties.

The option is clearly yours. But employers such as Parks Canada, PSAC members employed by the Treasury Board and various Agencies and Separate Employers, as well as the Canadian public, have a right to expect the person with ultimate responsibility to act. Your failure to do so is the cause of the current Parks Canada strike, and will be the cause of other work stoppages before the summer is over, should you decide not to carry out your responsibilities as Treasury Board President.

Sincerely, 

Nycole Turmel, National President, Public Service Alliance of Canada

cc : Right Honourable Paul Martin

Members of the Treasury Board Committee:

Honourable Ralph E. Goodale, Minister of Finance
Honourable Lucienne Robillard, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for  Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Honourable Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Industry
Honourable John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue

Alternate Members of the Treasury Board Committee:

Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment
Honourable James Scott Peterson, Minister of International Trade
Honourable Tony Valeri, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Leaders of Federal Opposition Parties:

Honourable Stephen Harper, Conservative Party
Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Québécois
Jack Layton, New Democratic Party

PSAC National Board of Directors
PSAC Parks Canada, CFIA, CRA and Treasury Board Negotiating Teams

Job Opportunity: Regional Negotiator

Position Title: Regional Negotiator
Branch/Section: Regional Offices Branch
Employment Type: Permanent

Employment Equity Designation: As a result of the PSAC Workforce and Availability Analysis and in accordance with the PSAC Employment Equity Plan, the successful candidate for this appointment will be a qualified Racially Visible person.

More details at psac.com (link opens in new window).

News: Treasury Board vetoes labour deal

The Martin government has further inflamed labour tensions with its largest union by turning down a negotiated contract settlement between the auditor general's office and its employees.

The deal between Canada's spending watchdog and 200 of its employees fell apart after the Treasury Board decided the tentative contract was too generous and would set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of public servants who are stalled in contracts talks that could escalate into full-blown strikes by the end of September, said Nycole Turmel, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) .

"We have never seen this happen before,' said Turmel "I've seen (governments) refuse a conciliator's report, but never an agreement that has been negotiated and accepted unanimously by both sides. It's the first time I've seen this."

Read more here.

Letter to Reg Alcock from Nycole Turmel

August 18th Dear Mr. Alcock: As I write this, some 4,800 PSAC members employed by the Parks Canada Agency are in the sixth day of rotating strike action. I say employed by, because Parks Canada is the legal employer, but we both know that Parks secures its bargaining mandate from Treasury Board. We also know, if Kathryn May quoted your officials correctly, that “the department has nothing to do with negotiations for separate employers and any decision is up to the committee of Treasury Board Ministers”. (“Liberals reject PSAC deal as too rich”, Ottawa Citizen, Tuesday, August 17, 2004). Finally, we know that in your capacity as the President of the Treasury Board or as part of the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee, you have recently intervened and rejected a Collective Agreement reached between the PSAC and the Office of the Auditor General. Read the rest here.

The Parks strike is everyone’s strike: An open letter to PSAC members from Nycole Turmel

August 18th Dear PSAC members: Our Parks Canada Agency members have been on strike since August 13th. Our bargaining team moved significantly on the issue of wages during the last set of negotiations held on the two days just before the strike. However, Parks management failed to put forward a fair and decent wage offer, failed to address the average 20% wage gap for federal operational workers revealed by the Treasury Board/PSAC joint pay study and failed to move on job security, whistleblower protection and other important issues. We all know that Treasury Board controls the finances, regardless of employer. Our members at the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) are in the unfortunate position of having recently confirmed this fact. They ratified a tentative agreement PSAC had negotiated with OAG only to find out that Treasury Board later rejected the settlement. What this means is that whatever happens at Parks will pave the way for eventual settlements with the Canada Revenue Agency, Treasury Board, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Canada Post. We can’t let our Parks members do it alone. Everyone needs to be on the line with them. Parks picket lines and other strike activities are happening across the country. If you haven’t already done so, please contact your PSAC regional office, or check the regional web site, to find out what is happening and how you can participate. Let our Parks members know you are with them by joining them on their picket lines on your own time and helping out with other support actions being planned. The Parks strike is everyone’s fight. I know you will do everything you can to help turn this strike action into good collective agreements for all of our members. In solidarity, Nycole Turmel, National President Download the letter below (.pdf). Open_Letter-e.pdf

Olympics - Winners and Losers

August 20th "If labour exploitation were an Olympic sport, the sportswear giants would be well represented among the medal winners" - Play Fair at the Olympics Report prepared for Oxfam International, the Clean Clothes Campaign and Global Unions including the Canadian Labour Congress. The Play Fair at the Olympics Campaign is challenging the International and Canadian Olympic Committees to ensure all Olympic sportswear is made under humane, decent and fair conditions. Research conducted in eight countries discovered that sportswear workers, mostly women, worked long hours under harsh conditions for low wages. Many of the workers reported having to work excessive hours and forced overtime. They were often confronted with harassment and abuse. They suffered poor health due to the factory conditions and exhaustion. Their right to form a union was denied and there was no job security. To find out more or how you can support this campaign, please visit: www.oxfam.ca and www.fairolympics.org (links open in new window)

PSAC tells Parks Canada to cease and desist!

August 20th Legal counsel for the PSAC has served an official notice to officials at the Parks Canada Agency that it must immediately cease and desist from interfering with the bargaining process. The union charges that Parks Canada has misrepresented the position of the union to our members and has attempted to bargain directly with them. The union also charges that e-mail messages from the employer are essentially attempts to intimidate our members by trying to impose guidelines for conducting the strike combined with broad threats of disciplinary action in reprisal for exercising their legal right to strike. PSAC contends that all of these acts and more, such as the video taping of our members on the picket lines, are serious violations of the Public Service Staff Relations Act. Even designated workers have been subjected to threatening and intimidating statements. The Agency has been warned that the next step will be complaints before the Public Service Staff Relations Board if these actions continue. Read the full text of the letter here (link to psac.com opens in new window)

PSAC BC Regional Women's Conference Call-Out

August 23rd To: All PSAC Locals, BC Region Dear Sisters and Brothers, BC Regional Women’s Conference:  “Strong Women - Strong Unions: Continuing to Build Our Movement” Please find enclosed the application form and poster for the upcoming BC Regional Women’s Conference.  The Regional Women’s Coordinating Committee is working hard in preparation for our upcoming Conference in New Westminster, BC from Friday, November 26 to Sunday, November 28, 2004. Read more, and apply on-line, on the PSAC BC Regional Womens Conference pages.

Walk to end breast cancer - Patty Ducharme

August 27th Dear Brothers and Sisters, dear friends: On Saturday, August 20, the PSAC Hoofers joined 2,101 walkers in The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, a two-day, 60-kilometer walk to raise funds for breast cancer research in British Columbia.   This hard walking group of people raised a total of $7,027,000 to raise awareness for a disease that devastates the lives of millions. The second annual Weekend to End Breast Cancer is already planned for August 19-21, 2005. The 2,101 walkers began their walk Saturday, August 20 after the Opening Ceremonies at Plaza of Nations.   Our union team, the PSAC Hoofers, proudly wearing PSAC BC shirts and firmly strapped into our runners took to the streets following the opening ceremonies.  Over the course we met numerous PSAC members who were either volunteering or, like us, were walking in the event. Our 35 kilometer walk on day number one took us around the sea wall through Stanley Park where we ate lunch in the rain.  The rain continued relentlessly while we walked through Kitsilano, Fairview slopes, to Trout Lake and ended our day in Killarney Park.    Despite the fact that most of the walkers planned on camping at Killarney Park that night we chose, instead, to spend the night under hard cover in local housing where we got dry and warm and rested up for the final 25 kilometers on the Sunday. The next day, we woke up achy but ready to hit the road.  Our route on the Sunday took us though more of Vancouver's scenic neighborhoods.  Thankfully Sunday was a dry day!  Sunday's journey ended with the Closing Ceremonies in BC Place Stadium where walkers were greeted by cheering family and friends. Each walker raised at least $2,000, with the net proceeds funding critical breast cancer research and services at BC Cancer Agency.   The PSAC Hoofers- Patty Ducharme, Angela Marafon, Terri Lanki, and Nora Johnson raised over $13,000 for this event. This year over 75,000 donors made contributions to The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. We would like to thank all of you who so generously donated to this event, our friends, family and supporters who cheered us along the route, Christine Beynon who managed our team website and managed our fund-raising efforts, and all the volunteers who worked this event.  Special thanks to Canadian First Marketing for their kind donation of our team shirts, embroidered with the BC PSAC logo and the pink breast-cancer ribbon. I have attached a photo of our team - from the left: Patty Ducharme, Terri Lanki, Nora Johnson, Angela Marafon Again, thanks to all of you for donating so generously to this cause - we'll do it again next August.  If you want to join our team - let me know In solidarity, Patty If you would like to see more photos of the event - go to the website below. http://bc.endcancer.ca/site/PageServer

Photos: August 25th at Library Square

August 25th The Parks Photo Gallery has been updated with photos from todays picket line at Library Square. The picketers would like to thank: Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East, Peter Julian, MP for Burnaby-New Westminster, and Jim Sinclair, Pres. BCFL, who came out in support and brought donuts Members of SEIU Local 244 (Best Facility Services) who refused to cross the line An unidentified member who brought cookies An unidentified manager who brought coffee and cookies Members of CEIU 20974, National 20005, UCTE 20219, Agriculture 20060 who picketed in support The New Westminster District and Labour council, who will raise the issue at their general membership meeting tonight, and distribute the petition.

News Release: Federal labour unrest escalates as the Liberal caucus meets

August 24, 2004

Union members are infuriated by the employer’s offer of “peanuts”, while Parliamentarians and Senior Managers enjoy hefty wage increases and bonuses.

VANCOUVER – Parks Canada workers in British Columbia walk off the job en mass as labour unrest across Canada continues to grow.

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Members employed by Parks Canada are walking off the job on another rotating general strike day.  All workers in B.C. who are not designated essential service will be on strike on Wednesday, August 25^th.  Picket lines are expected at all Parks and Historic sites in B.C., as well as at the Parks Regional Headquarters located at Library Square.

 “Our Parks members aren’t in this alone”, says Patty Ducharme, spokesperson for the PSAC in B.C.  “Our members working for the Canada Revenue Agency, Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Treasury Board Departments are all engaged in the same struggle”.  Ducharme is questioning the fairness of the current wage offers, while Parliamentarians and Senior Managers have been enjoying significant pay increases and bonuses (see  backgrounder below (.pdf) for details).

Read more here.

psac-backgrounder-08-24-2004.pdf

Fighting to close a 20% wage gap - Info for TB 2

One of the outstanding issues on the table at Treasury Board negotiations is the 20% wage gap between Table 2 members and their counterparts in the private and other public sectors. This wage gap was proven in a pay study commissioned jointly by Treasury Board and the PSAC and released in September 2003. The employer’s refusal to address this issue is one of the main reasons that has brought the Table 2 negotiations in front of a conciliation board.

Already, 4,800 of our members at Parks Canada, 45% of whom are operational service workers, are on strike because their employer also refuses to acknowledge the results of this study.

The start of the Treasury Board-Table 2 Conciliation Board hearings on August 24 brings the possibility of a strike much closer.

Read more here.

News Release: Labour relations with the federal government in downward spiral

August 24th OTTAWA – Labour relations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the federal government continue to deteriorate as yet another Conciliation Board starts its hearings today. Talks began almost a year ago between the PSAC and Treasury Board for operational services workers employed by the federal government. Shortly after negotiations began, an independent consultant produced the results of their survey of wage rates for comparable positions in the private and public sector. The Morneau-Sobeco study, which had been jointly commissioned by PSAC and Treasury Board, showed an average wage gap of 20%. “Treasury Board's only offer to these members consisted of 1.75%, 1.25% and 1.25% over a three-year period,” says Jerome Turcq, PSAC's Regional Executive Vice-President for Quebec. “That offer doesn't even address increases in the cost of living, much less the wage gap that the study revealed.” Read more at the national website (link to psac.com opens in new window)

Concerned about the privatization of health care?

Call the following two numbers and leave your name and your hometown and province then, in your own words, give them the following message:

I've been watching the coverage of the First Ministers' Meeting and I'm upset You promised that you would do something about privatization but nobody is talking about it at the meeting You also promised that provinces would be held accountable for any money they got from Ottawa I haven't heard anything about this yet, I'm still watching and waiting I expect you to keep your promises.

Prime Minister Paul Martin at 613-992-4211 and Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh at 613-995-7052

News Release: PSAC files complaint against Parks management for interference and intimidation

August 26th OTTAWA – The union representing 4,800 Parks Canada workers who are currently on strike filed a complaint against management for interfering with the bargaining process and for using intimidation tactics against picketing workers. The Public Service Alliance of Canada charges that management has interfered with the union’s processes rather than bargain. They have done this by bargaining directly with our members who have a legal right to strike. “This is insulting and a clear violation of the Act that governs collective bargaining in the federal public sector,” said Jeannie Baldwin, the PSAC officer in charge of bargaining with Parks Canada. “Our union’s bargaining team was democratically elected by our members at Parks, and it has the mandate to reject or call for a vote on any offer by the employer. Parks Canada management should respect that and deal directly with the team.” Read more here.

News Release: Conciliation Board report could avert strike at Canada Revenue Agency

OTTAWA – A Conciliation Board report issued today points the way to settlements in the federal public sector according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

“The Conciliation Board, established to hear the issues in dispute between the union and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), has recommended wage increases that are getting closer to the area of possible settlements,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel.  

The Board has recommended wage increases of 3.0%, 2.75% and 2.5% in each of three years, retroactive to November 1, 2003.   Turmel points out that these amounts are still less than other federal public sector settlements and arbitration awards which generally are including some type of wage restructuring. Increases for three year agreements are running in the 9% to 12% range, which is less than the increase of 8.25% being recommended by this Board.

Read more at the national website | CRA Bargaining bulletin #39 has more details on the report itself (links to psac.com open in new window)

News: Parks workers target minister's office

August 30th Striking Parks Canada workers targeted Treasury Board President Reg Alcock Monday, camping out in front of both his Winnipeg and Ottawa offices. They are trying to keep up the pressure on the federal government to resolve their dispute leading up to the Labour Day weekend. In Winnipeg, union members set up a camper outside his office with a sign that reads: "Where is Reg?” and plan to stage an all-day protest. Read more at the Globe and Mail (link opens in new window - free reg. req'd) Where's Reg? - join the hunt!

News Release: PSAC looks for Alcock to settle Parks labour dispute

August 30th OTTAWA / WINNIPEG – Members of the union representing Parks Canada workers camped out in front of Treasury Board President Reg Alcock’s offices in a continuing bid to force him to accept his responsibility and help settle a two-week-old strike. The demonstrators from the Public Service Alliance of Canada stationed themselves in front of the Treasury Board office in Ottawa and Alcock’s riding office in Winnipeg early this morning. “There are five days left before the Labour Day weekend, the last long-weekend in the summer when people can enjoy their national parks and historic sites,” says Ed Cashman, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the National Capital Region. Read more here.

News Release: Ball is in Parks Canada, Alcock’s court in labour dispute

VANCOUVER – Parks Canada workers in British Columbia apply more pressure for their employer to return to the negotiating table with a better offer and end the strike that has been hurting the tourism industry.

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada employed by Parks Canada in B.C. are walking off the job on another rotating general strike day. The same strike action taken by the strikers in the last two weeks caused a severe drop in revenues in national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas.

“We have gone out of our way to conduct an unconventional strike that minimized the impact on the public,” says Patty Ducharme, the B.C. spokesperson for the Public Service Alliance of Canada. “Inevitably, some disruptions in services will occur and the tourism industry will be affected, but that should demonstrate the significant contribution of our members’ work in the economy. That should not be taken for granted.”

Read more here.