News Release: PSAC members ratify new agreement with Parks Canada Agency
December 16th
OTTAWA - Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working at Parks Canada Agency have accepted a new collective agreement that was negotiated in mid-October after a two-month rotating and general strike.
The four-year agreement, which expires on August 4, 2007, provides for across-the-board annual wage increases for the 4,800 members of PSAC at Parks, as well as additional salary adjustments ranging from 2.6% to 19% for operational service workers that will go towards closing a wage disparity identified by a Treasury Board-PSAC pay study.
“It was our members’ determination and strong show of solidarity over the two months of the strike that led us to achieve some significant improvements in the collective agreement,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “Their collective action and sacrifices ultimately forced the employer back to the negotiating table and make a significantly improved offer from their previous one.”
Before the strike in August, the Agency’s wage offer was 2.5%, 2% and 2%, plus a 4% increment to address the 20% wage gap identified by the Treasury Board-PSAC pay study between operational services workers and their counterparts in the private and other public sectors.
“The employer launched an aggressive media campaign claiming that their offer was more than generous,” says PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Atlantic Jeannie Baldwin. “However, our striking members were giving a more factual message to the public on the picket lines and received overwhelming public support during the strike. The public loves their national parks, canals, heritage sites and conservation areas and do not want these compromised by the Agency’s undercutting of Parks workers, and we thank them for their support.”
Another breakthrough in the new collective agreement is the modification of marriage leave to allow for same-sex unions.
Other highlights of the collective agreement, which 90 % of PSAC members across the country ratified, include:
- annual wage increases across the board of 2.5% retroactive to August 2003, 2.25% for 2004, 2.4% for 2005 and 2.5% for 2006;
- improvements in overtime, call-back and reporting pay and shift premiums; and
- other salary improvements for some groups through pay harmonization and restructuring and terminable allowances.
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Highlights of tentative agreements: Parks | TB2 | TB 5 | CFIA
News: PSAC strike at Parks Canada ends with tentative agreement
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October 12th
The Public Service Alliance of Canada has reached a tentative agreement with Parks Canada Agency late last night, ending a two-month-old strike among 4,800 Parks workers.
Highlights of the tentative agreement, which expires August 4, 2007, include:
- annual wage increases across the board of 2.5% retroactive to August 2003, 2.25% for 2004, 2.4% for 2005 and 2.5% for 2006;
- additional salary adjustments ranging from 2.6% to 19%, that will go towards closing a wage disparity identified by a Treasury Board-PSAC pay study; and various other improvements.
Although Parks members will not be on strike, they are urged to respect picket lines at work sites they share with other bargaining units who are on strike by calling their supervisors to escort them through the lines.
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Negotiations Update - October 12th
October 12th
Parks has reached a tentative settlement, the documents have been finalized. Strike action is therefore suspended and Parks members are returning to work.
Talks continued well into the morning for PSAC members at CRA, and Treasury Board Tables 1,2,3, and 5. The teams took a rest, but talks have not broken off at any table and are scheduled to resume in short order.
This morning at one minute past midnight, our members in a legal strike position at CRA, TB 1,2, and 3, began taking strike action. Ships crews members took strike action: 9 ships were forced to come back to port. Picket lines have been set up at military bases, airports, penetentiaries, tax centers, and other locations across the country. We expect strike action to take place until tentative agreements are reached.
Here is the status of negotiations (as of 9AM EST):
- Parks Canada agreement reached
- PSAC TB 2, talks resuming, settlement likely within hours.
- Treasury Board TB 1,3: talks resuming, a number of complex issues remain outstanding.
- CRA: talks resuming this morning.
- TB 5: talks resuming.
We are encouraged by the tentative agreement at Parks Canada and by the progress made at Table 2 and CRA, but there is still work to be done at both the negotiating table and the political level.
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125,000 PSAC members on strike while talks continue -Strike is suspended at Parks Canada
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October 12th
Approximately 125,000 PSAC members have started strike action as of 12:01 a.m. October 12th as negotiations continue with Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency.
PSAC has, pending a review of written documents, a tentative agreement with Parks Canada. Therefore, strike action by the union’s 4,800 members at the Parks Canada Agency has been suspended. The 1,000 members in the Treasury Board Education and Library Science group (Table 5) are not in a legal strike position.
Details at the national website.
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News Release: PSAC negotiations with Parks Canada to resume
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October 6th
OTTAWA - The Public Service Alliance of Canada and Parks Canada Agency are returning to the bargaining table in an attempt to reach a settlement covering 4,800 Parks employees.
“It is our hope that Parks Canada is finally coming to the table with a mandate to negotiate a collective agreement that truly reflects that true value of Parks employees,” says PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President (Atlantic) Jeannie Baldwin. “We expect the employer to take the process seriously and work with us towards a new collective agreement.”
Negotiations are expected to resume by this weekend.
“As a gesture of good faith, the union is postponing strike actions at national parks, historic sites, conservation areas and canals by our Parks Canada Agency members until October 12th,” confirms Baldwin. “Our intent has always been to achieve a fair collective agreement that our members deserve.”
Parks Canada workers have been on strike since August 13, 2004.
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News Release: Striking Parks employees bring petitions to town
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September 17th
Ottawa—Striking Parks Canada employees, members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, presented a petition with more than 10,000 signatures to members of Parliament today in Ottawa. The petitions were signed by visitors to Parks Canada facilities across Canada.
“Those signatures represent the opinion of tourists who, contrary to Parks management, recognize the value of the work our members accomplish for Parks Canada,” said Nycole Turmel, PSAC National President. “Those workers deserve to be treated fairly because they are the custodians of Canada's natural beauty and history,” added Turmel.
Read more at the national website (link to psac.com opens in new window)
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News: Parks Canada relieved union dropped plan for general strike
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September 7th
EDMONTON (CP) - Parks Canada managers are breathing a sigh of relief after
threats by unionized employees to pull all workers off the job during the busy
long weekend failed to materialize.
Many of the 4,800 striking employees, who have been staging rotating strikes
for the last three weeks, returned to their jobs on Saturday and Sunday after
staging a general Canada-wide strike on Friday. Services in many parks and
historic sites returned to normal over the weekend, although there were some
exceptions and sporadic picketing in a few parks.
Read more at mytelus.com (link opens in new window).
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News Release: National walkout at Parks Canada
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September 3rd
OTTAWA - All 4,800 Parks Canada employees represented by the Public Service
Alliance of Canada (PSAC) walked off the job today paralyzing national parks,
historic sites, canals, marine conservation areas and Parks offices across the
country.
“We have given the employer a number of opportunities to come back to the
bargaining table and settle this dispute”, says PSAC National President Nycole
Turmel. “Instead, Parks Canada seems intent on dragging this out as
long as possible, regardless of the impact.”
Turmel reiterated the union's message that the strikers don't want to
inconvenience the public. “Access by visitors to national parks and historic
sites has by and large not been stopped, even if the Agency is losing badly
needed revenue.”
Read more at the national website (link to psac.com opens in
new window)
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Letter to Alan Latourelle from Heather Brooker
August 31st : posted September 1st
Mr. Alan Latourelle, CEO, Parks Canada Agency
Dear Alan:
This letter is in response to your reply received in this office July 15, 2004 (actually it would be appropriate if you dated your letters) and in relation to the continuing labour dispute between PSAC and Parks Canada Agency.
It is quite ironic Alan, or perhaps just symptomatic of Parks lack of understanding of the importance of workers and the need/benefit of creating a workplace where workers are respected, that while the unionized employees of Parks disengaged from all forums of consultation, Parks Canada continued to attempt to meet with these workers to arrive at solutions to improve the workplace. Clearly, workers who withdraw from consultation with the employer are attempting to deliver a message of their mistrust. Today, those same workers are withdrawing their labour as the result of this employer’s ongoing lack of respect and commitment to improving the workplace.
Your assertion that the non-renewal of terms, the shortening of the work seasons and Parks’ refusal to decrease the wage gap of the trades and service employees with the private sector is the result of a government-wide policy decision to limit 2004-05 salary expenditures, is a prime example of a perception that is wrong. Clearly the notion that Parks Canada could operate as a separate agency and be almost self-sustaining was incorrect. It is time to own up to that incorrect assumption and work with us to encourage the government to come up with the dollars required to ensure that Parks Canada is able to fully carry out its mandate. You have other options aside from saving dollars off of the backs of the workers. Cut or claw back the bonuses provided to senior managers. Reduce your senior management team, or at minimum ensure efficiencies in that area of your realm. Stop accepting responsiblity for increased historic sites and parks without additional wage dollars being provided. Stop expecting Parks Canada to be the Wal-Mart of public services. It never will, nor should it be expected to generate a profit for government coffers or suffer the consequences of cutbacks, layoffs and other such profit-oriented draconian measures. Parks is a regulatory body of the Government of Canada which has an obligation to protect, promote and preserve their stewardship of our national Parks and historic sites for the enjoyment of all. Government funding is where the focus should be and remain when the subject of sustainability arises.
As I stated in my previous letter, it is to neither party’s benefit when discussions break down, particularly in a climate where Parks Canada is aware (albeit in some instances unaware) of the challenges they face as an employer in the everyday workplace. For instance, it is more than an “unfortunate situation” as you so callously put it, when terms are not renewed and or let go early, as with the seasonals, particularly when the rationale is an attempt to divide the union. It is this type of attitude and actions which will limit your ability as an employer to attain the trust and loyalty of our members.
For all of the above reasons, we would urge Parks Canada to reconsider their stand and allow us to move forward in an environment where we have the opportunity to acquire healthy labour relations. Alan, as you know, the union has just filed an unfair labour practice for numerous tactics of harassment and intimidation. These are not the acts of an employer with an intention to improve the workplace. Let’s get back to the table and see evidence that the employer intends to bargain with an attitude that shows respect for these workers and the job that they perform every day. It is to this employer’s detriment to do otherwise.
Yours sincerely, Heather Brooker and Mike Wing
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!
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News Release: PSAC looks for Alcock to settle Parks labour dispute
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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.
“Mr. Alcock has the capacity to call on Parks management to return to the negotiating table with a better offer, but he’s shirking his responsibility. Now he has only five days to act, otherwise the long weekend will be ruined for a lot of people, and Canada’s tourism industry will continue to suffer.”
The Parks Canada Agency, although a separate employer, receives its bargaining mandate from Treasury Board. This became glaringly apparent recently when the Treasury Board President and the Treasury Board Cabinet Committee intervened and rejected a collective agreement reached between the PSAC and the Office of the Auditor General.
“We’ve been bargaining with Parks since October of last year and throughout our negotiations, it was obvious that the management team was getting its signals from Treasury Board,” says Robyn Benson, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Prairies.
“Now that we’ve reached an impasse and were forced to strike, Mr. Alcock is abdicating his responsibility.”
The union is striking over wages, benefits and job security. A particular sticking point is the 20-per-cent wage gap between operational service workers at Parks Canada and their counterparts in the private and public sectors. The wage gap was proven in a September 2003 pay study jointly commissioned by the union and Treasury Board. The employer’s latest offer was 6.5 per cent over three years and a mere four per cent to address the 20-per-cent wage gap. The union found the offer insulting in light of the fact that ministerial executive assistants received a 25% wage increase in December 2003 and senior management received raises and 90 per cent received bonuses.
PSAC Parks Canada members are being joined at the two demonstrations by PSAC members at CRA, Treasury Board and CFIA, all of whom will be in a strike position shortly.
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News Release: Ball is in Parks Canada, Alcock’s court in labour dispute
August 28th
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.”
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada recently claimed that the strike is impacting the industry and called on the union to bring the employer’s latest offer to the members for a vote.
“Our members love their jobs and didn’t want to go on strike,” says Ducharme. “That’s why we tried to negotiate a settlement for months since October 2003 until we were forced into this situation. The problem was that Treasury Board wasn’t giving the Parks bargaining team a clear mandate throughout most of negotiations, and when it finally did, it was too little, too late.”
Ducharme adds that the tourism association should place the blame squarely on the employer and Treasury Board President Reg Alcock, who has been silent throughout the labour dispute.
“If anyone has the power to end the tourism industry’s woes, it’s Alcock and the employer,” says Ducharme. “I’m not sure how much ministerial executive assistants and senior management contribute to the health of the economy, but they were recently given pretty hefty raises, plus bonuses. All we’re asking for is something to help our members comfortably afford the cost of living and to close a proven 20% wage gap between our operational service workers and their counterparts in the private and public sectors.”
News Release: PSAC files complaint against Parks management for interference and intimidation
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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.”
One of the examples the union cites in its complaint are memos that
management distributed to workers that describe pay positions and that state
that the union should call for a vote on the last offer. This last statement was
also repeated by management in the media on several occasions.
The complaint further states that the employer has used intimidation and
threats to prevent workers from exercising their right to strike and to picket.
This was done through threatening and legally misleading letters to workers and
through videotaping and photographing of strikers on the picket lines.
“These were all intended to undermine the union’s leadership and proper role
in bargaining,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “Our members have
been hitting the employer hard while minimizing the impact on the public. In
contrast, the employer has been manipulating, abusing and undermining its
workforce and the public. It’s the employer who has been abusing the situation
on the picket lines.”
The complaint was sent today to the Public Service Staff Relations Board, the
body that oversees collective bargaining between the federal government and
federal agencies and public service unions.
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Photos: August 25th at Library Square
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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.
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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 25th. 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).
Ducharme says union members are trying to deliver a message for the Liberal MPs, in particular Treasury Board President Reg Alcock and Prime Minister Paul Martin, “Our union members are working on the front lines, serving Canadians and delivering important programs – they are protecting our Parks and historic sites, helping seniors with their pensions, eradicating the avian flu, protecting our waters and borders. They are hard working, dedicated public service employees who are looking for a fair and reasonable collective agreement.”
Picketing union members are hopeful that Members of Parliament will stand up and take notice, and do their part for Canadians by averting a massive labour dispute. The PSAC is calling upon all MPs to push Paul Martin to provide new mandates to employer negotiating teams, ending this labour dispute with reasonable, negotiated settlements.
Nationally, some 135,000 PSAC Members employed by the Federal Government, Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will be following suit in the coming weeks, some as early as September 3, 2004.
 psac-backgrounder-08-24-2004.pdf
Letter to Alan Latourelle from Nycole Turmel
Posted August 24th
August 20, 2004
Alan Latourelle, CEO Parks Canada Agency
Mr. Latourelle:
I must say that I found your letter to "all Parliamentarians” disingenuous in the extreme.
For the record, it is the PSAC and our Parks members who have been consciously working to minimize the impact of the current strike on the Canadian public and not Parks Canada management.
We have done this in many ways including establishing picket lines on a rotating basis, and periodically opening our lines to ensure that the public can make use of Parks and canal facilities on at least a sporadic basis. This is entirely consistent with the commitment of our members to Canada’s Parks and Parks visitors. Contrast this with decision Parks Canada has made to close some Parks facilities.
I want to say as well that by engaging in intimidating tactics and by trying to negotiate directly with our members through e-mail messages and on picket lines, Parks management may well cause an escalation of picket line activity, and more regrettable inconvenience for the public.
I would urge you to take a second look at the performance of Parks management and seriously consider focusing on bargaining through appropriate channels.
Sincerely, Nycole Turmel, National President
cc: Right Honourable Paul Martin
Honourable Stephen Harper, Conservative Party
Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Québécois
Jack Layton, New Democratic Party
Honourable Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board
Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment
Parks Negotiating Team
Members of the PSAC National Board of Directors
Contest - Find Reg Alcock
Open Letter To The Media - Lisbeth Edwards, Pacific Rim Nat'l Park
August 20th
Let's get the facts straight! Parks Canada employees are on strike across the country. Visitors should be aware that the services for which they are paying when they enter a national park have been reduced during the current labour dispute with Parks Canada. In Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, park staff who jointly operate the Pacific Rim Visitor Centre with the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce, are not presently working. While the Chamber of Commerce is still staffing the facility, they are cutting hours due to the excessive workload, as all visitors to the Tofino/Ucluelet area must pass by here. As a result, not only is park information being compromised, but there is no bilingual service.
Management continues to staff Greenpoint Campground as regular staff have walked out. Other managers have been brought in from elsewhere to try to cope. Meanwhile, staff on strategic strike are stationed at the Park Use Permit machines, speaking to visitors and asking them to forego paying as they are not receiving the full range of services the park entry fee is meant to cover. A key attraction in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and the jewel of our park facilities, the Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre, is closed. Other services paid for by the park entry fee have also been cancelled; among these are interpretive programs from guided walks to evening programs, which are the centre of the education that national parks traditionally provide to enhance the visitor experience. So in addition to the above service reductions in the campground and park information centre, the services for which our national parks are famous are not available.
Park visitors who agree that paying a park entry fee is unfair during this dispute, and who receive a "request to pay" from the Commissionaire (contracted by the park, these are not park employees), are being asked to take these notices to Greenpoint Campground where the managers are. It is the visitor's right to object to the park use fee at this time of reduced services; park managers may then void the ticket. Visitors are more than happy to comply.
During this labour dispute, our Local, PSAC 29266, has been more than fair when it comes to community events. Although we were on a general strike on Monday, August 16th, the same day during which many dignitaries were invited to the Grand Opening of the joint venture Chamber of Commerce and Parks Canada Pacific Rim Visitor Centre, we guaranteed no interruptions to the event. Nor were there any, a fact remarked on and appreciated by park superintendent Alex Zellermeyer. Subsequent to this, concerts offered by The Pacific Rim Music Festival in our national park campground at Greenpoint Theatre were also not disrupted; for these events, the local was happy to ensure that a staff member was present so that the concerts, advertised far and wide, could continue so the Show Could Go On! We at Local 29266 believe in values, principles and fairness, even if our employer does not!
If you're looking for information, head down to the Park -- the people who answer the phones, and who normally work in the campground, information and interpretive centres are out in the park speaking to visitors, happy to make themselves accessible to the public. We hope to be back at work soon, with a fair collective agreement commensurate with the high standard of service we enjoy providing.
In solidarity, Lisbeth Edwards, President, Local 29266 National Component, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve/Gulf Islands National Park
PSAC tells Parks Canada to cease and desist!
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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)
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The Parks strike is everyone’s strike: An open letter to PSAC members from Nycole Turmel
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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
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Letter to Reg Alcock from Nycole Turmel
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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.
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Parks Photo Gallery Updated
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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!
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Support Striking Parks Workers: Call/Fax/Email your MP
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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
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Support Parks Workers @ Library Square!
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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
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News: Strikers respect Acadians' fête
August 16th : The Globe and Mail
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)
News: Prime minister meets striking Parks Canada workers at Whitehorse stop
August 14th
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 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.
News Release: Parks Canada negotiation breaks down, workers begin strike actions
August 13th : For Immediate Release
OTTAWA – 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.
The parties were in a two-day negotiation session that started on Wednesday morning to try and reach a last-minute tentative agreement, with a looming strike deadline of 12:01 a.m., Friday.
“We tried hard to reach a tentative agreement by moving significantly from our previous position and acknowledging the recommendations of the conciliation board,” says Jeannie Baldwin, the PSAC officer overseeing negotiations with Parks Canada.
“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 then shut down.”
The main stumbling block is wages, including the union’s demand to reduce a 20-per-cent 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. As part of their proposal for reducing the wage gap, the union wanted to phase out pay zones that pay different rates to, for example, general labourers in B.C. and in Quebec by as much as a 10% difference. The employer simply refused to deal with this demand.
“While we’re on strike, we will do our best to avoid any inconvenience to the public,” says Baldwin. “Unfortunately, disruptions in services will happen. We ask for the public’s patience and for them to help end the strike early by writing to their MPs and to Parks superintendents to urge them to get back to the negotiating table with better offers.”
News: Parks Canada strike begins
August 14th : Canada Press
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: Parks Canada strike could disrupt hundreds of sites
August 11th
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 Release: Public supports PSAC closing wage gap
August 10, 2002 : For Immediate Release
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.”
The joint pay study was conducted by the research firm Morneau-Sobeco and compared the wages of Treasury Board’s operational services workers at Table 2 with their counterparts in the private and public sectors. The gap has been a sticking point in negotiations with the government in two large bargaining units, including Treasury Board and the Parks Canada Agency.
With a strike deadline looming for Parks workers, the PSAC will be returning to the negotiating table tomorrow and Thursday to push for closing the wage gap and to try and hammer out a deal. About 45 per cent of PSAC members working for Parks Canada are in the same classifications as Table 2 members in Treasury Board and are therefore also experiencing the 20-per-cent wage gap.
“We recognize that addressing the wage gap will be a significant cost, but we’re willing to be flexible and look at options to phase it in over several years,” says Jeannie Baldwin, the PSAC regional executive vice-president for the Atlantic Region, the union officer overseeing Parks negotiations. “The employer’s last offer to address the wage gap was a mere three per cent.”
Furthermore, management has been misleading the public by making inaccurate statements about the total cost of the union’s wage demands. The figures presented by the employer at the conciliation board showed $14 million in the first year, $23 million in the second and about $23 million in the third, the total of which is significantly less than their claim of $100 million.
On top of the wage gap, Baldwin points out, Parks management won’t close an internal wage disparity brought about by regional rates of pay. “Basically, you have a situation where a mechanic in Banff is being paid 10 per cent more than a mechanic in Quebec City.”
The Environics survey of 2,020 Canadians 18 years of age and over was carried out between July 9 and 28, 2004. The question asked in the survey was: “The federal government is in collective bargaining with one of its unions. According to a wage study conducted by the government and the union, federal government employees who work in trades such as fire fighters, ship’s crews, electricians and carpenters are paid 20% less on average than people doing comparable jobs for other employers. Should this wage gap be eliminated?” Results of the survey are considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 per cent, nineteen times out of twenty.
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)
Broken promises force Parks workers to flee
August 3rd : Letter to the editor, Ottawa Citizen
Re: Unlock labour impasse, July 23.
Your editorial asks, if Parks Canada workers are so far behind in salaries compared to their counterpart in the private sector, then why don't they make a mad dash for those better-paying jobs? Well, in fact, they are.
A Public Service Commission study released about two years ago, and covered widely by the media ("35% of new PS hires quit, or plan to," Feb. 19, 2002), reports that the federal government has serious employee-retention problems.
The people who are staying, including the more than 4,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working for Parks Canada, are there mainly due to their strong commitment to public service. Why else would Parks workers stay despite many of them getting paid 20 per cent less than their counterparts in the private and other public sectors? Why else would they stay despite the employer's broken promises, back in 1999 when Parks Canada was transformed into an agency, that they will not lag behind in salaries and benefits compared to the rest of the federal public sector?
Our members do not want to inconvenience the public. In fact, our union has been trying to negotiate a fair labour contract for almost a year, while the employer, until the very last minute, came to the table with no offers or responses to our demands.
Our demands in this round of negotiations with Parks are about job security, work-life balance and health and safety at the workplace, most of which the employer has refused to address.
The Citizen editorial outlines the detrimental impact a strike will bring to Canadians and tourists. In a way, this highlights how important our members' labour is to the public and society. Isn't it about time the employer gave them their due?
Heather Brooker,
Ottawa, President, National Component, Public Service Alliance of Canada
News Release: Parks Canada wage increase calculations play fast and loose with the truth
July 27th : For immediate release
Parks Canada is misleading its employees here in B.C. and the public with a recent series of wage increase calculations that it suggests PSAC is demanding for all Parks staff.
Remember that when this round of bargaining started, we made it a top priority to end real inequities for our members.
We wanted to end regional rates of pay that treated so many of us as second-class workers.
We wanted to bridge the 20 per cent wage gap between Parks staff and our counterparts doing similar work in the public and private sectors.
And we wanted a fair pay increase to keep pace with inflation and let us catch up just a little after so many years of zeros when Paul Martin was finance minister.
But playing fast and loose with the truth, Parks Canada is cherry picking the job classifications and regions where our members face the greatest inequities.
When our negotiating team prepared our submission to the conciliation board it decided to make the principled case that the efforts of Parks Canada staff should be fully valued, our work properly paid, and all inequities eliminated.
And thats what we'd expect a bargaining committee to do on our behalf.
On the other hand, the employer submission reflects a desire to undervalue our work so that Ottawa can try and get away with the smallest increase possible.
At the end of the day, we know that the conciliation board report and recommendations-and ultimately a final settlement—will be somewhere in between what we’re proposing, and what the boss wants.
And let's not forget that while Parks Canada tries to undermine the credibility of our demands through cherry picked calculations, our senior managers have already received some whopping pay boosts.
News Release: PSAC frustrated by deadline extension for Conciliation Board’s report
July 26th : For Immediate Release
OTTAWA - The Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents more than 4,000 workers at Parks Canada, is frustrated with the delay in the submission of the conciliation board’s report.
The union was expecting the report to be tabled today as per the timelines set under the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), but instead received a fax early this afternoon that an extension to August 10 has been granted to the conciliation board’s filing of its report. Under the Act, there are only two ways that the conciliation board can get an extension: through the mutual agreement of the negotiating parties or through the authorization of the Public Service Staff Relations Board. In this case, the extension was granted by the PSSRB.
“We don’t understand why the conciliation board needs more time and why the PSSRB granted the extension,” says Jeannie Baldwin, the PSAC regional executive vice-president for the Atlantic Region, who is the union executive overseeing Parks negotiations. “In our view, the Act set out timelines for a reason. This extension seems to be an unnecessary delay which disrupts the normal process of collective bargaining.” While the extension delays legal strike action, the union is still determined to take necessary action to secure a fair collective agreement from Parks Canada Agency, if an agreement is not reached.
“It only means that there'll be a change in our tactics,” says Baldwin. “Our National Strike Co-ordinating Committee will be meeting soon to analyse this new situation and come up with appropriate strategies. We're still gearing up for a strike and our members will still be ready for strike activities, even with this delay.”
PSAC members at Parks Canada gave the union an 89% strike mandate in May.
“This delay also provides the employer with an opportunity to secure a more reasonable mandate, and return to the negotiating table,” Baldwin adds. “We are ready to negotiate with the employer, but unless and until the employer returns to the bargaining table and starts negotiating seriously, we will increase our mobilizing activities at parks and historical sites from coast to coast to coast.”
The outstanding issues in bargaining include pay increases, job security, work-life balance and health and safety at the workplace.
Letter To The Editor: Parks
July 23, 2004
The Editor
The Province
200 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC
V6C 3N3
provletters@png.canwest.com
Dear Editor:
Your July 23 editorial (Park those excessive wage demands) takes some unfair swipes at the 4,000 dedicated Parks Canada staff who’ve kept our national parks and historic sites operating under very challenging conditions caused by federal government funding cuts.
While branding our wage demands as “excessive” you conveniently ignore the fact that for five of the last 12 years, unionized Parks employees—including 400 here in B.C.—have had no wage increases at all. As a result, they have endured a significant decline in their real wages.
If wages are so bad you ask, then why haven’t Parks Canada staff made a mad dash to greener pastures elsewhere in the private and public sectors? Well in fact some have, as a recent government study into employee retention issues in the federal public service attests.
But the workers who have stayed have done so because of their strong commitment to public service. These incredible people work day in and day out to protect our parks system and historic sites as national treasures for the benefit of all Canadians.
Our members do not want to inconvenience the public. In fact, our union has been trying to negotiate a new contract for almost a year. We remain hopeful that a fair settlement can be reached before the Aug. 2 strike deadline.
You also outline the detrimental impact a strike will have for Canadians and tourism. In a way, you pinpoint just how important our members’ work is to the public and the economy. Isn’t it about time that Ottawa gave them their due?
Yours truly,
Patty Ducharme
B.C. Regional Vice President
Public Service Alliance of Canada
604-862-4001
Parks Bargaining Info: Strange hearings at Parks Canada
July 20th
It had to rank as one of the strangest Conciliation Board hearings in the history of collective bargaining in the federal public service!
After months of waiting, largely due to Employer efforts to delay the bargaining process, the five-day Conciliation Board hearing began on July 12. The union's bargaining team was eager, ready and relieved to finally be afforded an opportunity to put its case forward in front of an independent third party.
As is standard practice in Arbitration and Conciliation Board proceedings, the union team arrived armed with a comprehensive written submission outlining its position on all the outstanding issues as well as providing argument and supporting evidence. The written submission, or “brief” as it is known, is the document that contains all the information a party wants to provide the Conciliation Board for use in developing its non-binding recommendations. In contrast the Employer showed up with nothing – no written brief – claiming miscommunication regarding informal mediation that the Board might want to attempt. It was unprecedented that a party would appear before a Conciliation Board without a brief! As is standard practice in Arbitration and Conciliation Board proceedings, the union team arrived armed with a comprehensive written submission outlining its position on all the outstanding issues as well as providing argument and supporting evidence. The written submission, or “brief” as it is known, is the document that contains all the information a party wants to provide the Conciliation Board for use in developing its non-binding recommendations. In contrast the Employer showed up with nothing – no written brief – claiming miscommunication regarding informal mediation that the Board might want to attempt. It was unprecedented that a party would appear before a Conciliation Board without a brief!
Read more at the National website (link to psac.com opens in new window)
News Release: Parks Agency not taking negotiations seriously: PSAC
July 19th: For Immediate Release
OTTAWA - The Public Service Alliance of Canada is baffled by Parks Canada Agency’s approach to negotiating a collective agreement, after a week of hearings before a conciliation board.
In an unprecedented move by any negotiating party, the employer came before the conciliation board without a written submission of its proposals and declined to make a presentation on its pay position.
“The union is completely frustrated with this employer’s behaviour at bargaining,” says PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Atlantic Region Jeannie Baldwin, who is the union executive overseeing Parks negotiations. “They’ve been saying all along that they want to come to a settlement, but from the day bargaining began, they have not been taking the process seriously.”
At the end of the week of hearings, the employer made a last-minute wage increase offer of 2.25%, 2% and 1.5% in each year during the life of the collective agreement. The union rejected the offer, which was well below the pattern of increases in other collective agreements in the public service. The union’s demand is 5% in each of the three years to keep up with the rest of the public service and with inflation.
The employer also offered a 3% adjustment to address a 20-per-cent wage gap that was identified in a study supported by Treasury Board and the PSAC. The wage gap is among Parks workers in certain classifications and their counterparts in the private and public sectors. The union also rejected this offer for its extreme inadequacy.
The union is looking forward to the conciliation board’s recommendations, which will be tabled on July 26. The union hopes the Board’s recommendations will form the basis to end this dispute. However, after seven days of the Board’s report without the parties coming to a settlement, the union will be in a legal position to strike.
News: Parks workers could be striking by long weekend
July 14th
Calgary - Staff in national parks, such as Banff and Jasper, could walk off
the job just in time for the August long weekend.
Parks Canada and the Public Service Alliance of Canada started conciliation
hearings in Ottawa Monday, with the main issues being wages and improved safety
in the workplace.
The 4,000 parks workers across the country – including 700 park wardens and
campground attendants in Alberta – will be in a legal strike position in three
weeks.
Read more at cbc.ca (link opens in new window).
News Release: Strike countdown begins at Parks as bargaining goes to Conciliation Board
June 25th : For immediate release
OTTAWA - Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada working at Parks Canada are getting closer to a strike as dates have been set for their Conciliation Board hearings, beginning on July 12, 2004.
During the hearings, the union and the employer will have an opportunity to make presentations to the Board on the outstanding issues. The Board will have 14 days from the date of its appointment to consider the evidence and issue a report. PSAC members will be in a legal position to strike seven days after the union is advised that the Conciliation Board has filed its report with the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSSRB).
“Getting to this point hasn’t been easy,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “The employer has been doing everything it can to delay the process. For example, Parks Canada initially claimed they were not available any time during the summer for the Conciliation Board hearings.”
In response to this, Turmel sent a sharp letter to the PSSRB Chairperson pointing out that Parks Canada has had a deliberate strategy designed to prolong the bargaining process.
“Unless Parks Canada is willing to negotiate a speedy settlement, there will be no peace in the federal parks this summer,” says PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Atlantic Region Jeannie Baldwin, who is the union executive overseeing Parks negotiations. “Travellers, campers and businesses who rely on the operations of the national parks, heritage sites and canals are warned that there might be disruptions in service over the course of the summer.”
News: Parks workers poised to strike
May 17th
OTTAWA - Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada who work for Parks Canada Agency voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action and are prepared to walk the picket line if they don’t get a fair collective agreement soon.
Eighty nine per cent (89%) said yes to strike action at Parks Canada after the PSAC negotiating team reported delays and stall tactics by management at the negotiating table.
Read more at psac.com (link opens in new window)
News: Glacier, Mt. Revelstoke national parks staff to hold strike vote in Revelstoke today
April 21st
About 70 unionized employees who work at Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier national parks will be voting today in Revelstoke to authorize strike action to back up demands for a fair contract settlement from the Martin government.
Negotiations for a new collective agreement with the federal government agency Parks Canada have bogged down, says Patty Ducharme, spokesperson for the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents the workers. “We’re optimistic that a strong mandate for job action will put pressure on the federal government to begin bargaining seriously,” says Ducharme.
Key issues bargaining issues for workers include pay boosts to close the proven wage gap that exists for Parks employees compared to other private and public sector employers for the same work, job security for seasonal employees, better health and safety protections, and improved allowances.
So far, says Ducharme, government negotiators have claimed they have no mandate to discuss monetary issues. However, she says the employer side has hinted that any pay boosts would have to come from rollbacks in other contract areas.
“The employer’s approach is insulting,” says Ducharme. “Our members are the people behind important services and programs that Canadians rely on every day. We deserve more respect at the bargaining table from the Martin government.”
The 70 PSAC members based in Revelstoke and Golden are part of 4,000 Parks Canada staff who are involved in the strike vote. They work to provide conservation, interpretive and maintenance services at national parks, historic sites and canals across the country. Their contract expired Oct. 5, 2003. The strike vote in Revelstoke begins at 7 p.m. at the Rec Centre.
Given the potential impacts on tourism and local businesses, Ducharme says her union is reaching out to tourism associations, conservation organizations, and friends of Canada’s national parks to keep them posted on the status of talks. And, she is urging these groups to lobby Parks Canada management and federal Environment Minister David Anderson for a fair contract settlement.
Parks Bargaining Update
March 17th
The union bargaining team met with the Employer for five full days, March
8-12, with the assistance of a conciliation officer. The union had
applied for conciliation in February hopeful that the conciliation process would
help the parties to narrow the number of outstanding issues and to resolve the
scope of their differences.
Throughout the week of conciliation, progress was stymied by the Employer's
continued practice of unnecessarily delaying the negotiation process. Despite
assurances from the Employer that they would be in a position to deal with
issues more efficiently than in previous sessions, it was just more of the
same.
The Employer wasted the better part of the first three days by dragging out
the discussion of a single item – the definition of “normal
workplace”. The union had tabled a proposal in December that would
put us on the same footing as the rest of the public service (the 16 km radius).
Rather than address the issue, the Employer sought to confuse the issue,
suggesting for instance that having a definition of “normal workplace” in the
contract would somehow impact on the harassment article as well as the
Government of Canada's Workplace Charitable Campaign. We're not making this up –
that was the Employer's response!
We put together several different packages to try and resolve different
groups of issues but without success. The only items we were able to
sign off were minor changes on the portability of severance and sick leave
benefits for people transferring between Parks and the rest of the federal
public service and a slight improvement to the performance evaluation
process. The Employer would not even agree to an improvement on the
payment of transportation expenses (in relation to callback and reporting pay)
that had been agreed to at Table Two the week before.
On Wednesday morning the union tabled its pay position, calling for various
restructuring components and economic increases (see the website for details).
The Employer did not respond until the very end of the process on Friday
afternoon at 4:00 and then only to say that they have no response to provide
because they need more time to review our proposal. The Employer
also stated that they didn't want to offend us by making a wage offer! That
speaks volumes about what kind of mandate they have.
Overall the bargaining team was extremely frustrated by the lack of progress
and the Employer's behaviour in delaying negotiations. It was felt that even
less progress was made this week than in February. What was also
made very clear to the team is that Parks is still under the thumb of Treasury
Board and is neither willing nor able to operate in any way resembling an
independent separate employer when it comes to collective bargaining.
After reviewing its options and in light of the failure of the conciliation
experience to move things along, the union bargaining team has decided to apply
for the appointment of a conciliation board.
Parks Canada – Bargaining Update
March 10th
PSAC's proposals to the employer are designed to achieve wage parity
between Parks workers and workers elsewhere and to give Parks workers
competitive economic gains. Click on the following PDF documents (links
to PSAC National website open in new window).
PSAC Pay position
Allowances Proposal
Parks Canada – Bargaining Update
February 5, 2004
The PSAC bargaining team has completed its third bargaining session, meeting with the Employer for a total of eight days between January 26 and February 5, 2004.
Modest progress was made on a few minor, non-monetary issues. Agreement was reached on improvements to union leave, grievance procedure, discipline, employee orientation, traveling time, and compensatory leave.
On the more substantive issues, the Employer’s negotiators say they have no mandate on monetary items; a position similar to that which has been communicated by Treasury Board to the other PSAC bargaining teams.
While there was some progress on the limited number of non-monetary items described above, the pace of negotiations has been exceedingly slow. Most of the team’s days were spent waiting for the Employer to respond to positions presented by the union.
Due to the slow pace of negotiations, the bargaining team has decided to apply for the services of a conciliation officer to assist the parties. In its application, the bargaining team has indicated its availability for conciliation the week of March 8, 2004. The team is hopeful that an independent third party will be able to accelerate the negotiations process and avoid further unnecessary delays.
Other significant issues being pushed by the PSAC team at the bargaining table are improvements to the benefits and conditions of seasonal workers. Recognizing the number of seasonal workers among our Parks members, the union bargaining team considers these issues to be among the important demands. The Employer, however, continues to give off the attitude that they consider seasonal employees as second-class workers. The Employer has yet to respond to these demands.
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