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News in Detail
Attention News/Labour Editors:
- [ 15/05/2008
]
OTTAWA, May 12 /CNW Telbec/ - The union representing about 5,000 workers
at Parks Canada denounces the employer's attempt at undermining contract
negotiations when the Agency's negotiators walked away from the table.
The union adds that the employer's inflexibility on its meagre wage
offer, on the elimination of pay zones and on closing the pay gap for Parks
trade workers is a strong indication that the Agency is not taking
negotiations seriously.
"After we reached impasse last February, the employer contacted us and
asked us to return to the table because they said they were ready to respond
seriously to our demands," said the Public Service Alliance of Canada Regional
Executive Vice-President for Atlantic, Jeannie Baldwin. "We came back to the
table last week. After seven days of talks where they refused to budge from
their positions, they walked away from bargaining and are now proposing
mediation to which we don't agree."
Baldwin says in order for mediation to work, the two parties have to be
close to an agreement, but this is not the case given that the employer
refuses to deal with the major issues. "We want the employer to come back to
the table and negotiate," Baldwin says.
Contract negotiations began in May last year but reached impasse after
10 months when the employer refused to respond to the union's major issues,
including job security, contracting out, misuse of student hiring and wages.
The PSAC filed for third-party conciliation, called Public Interest
Commission, on April 21, 2008. The union had agreed to return to bargaining
talks "without prejudice" on May 5.
The employer proposed a four-year collective agreement and tabled an
offer of 2.1 per cent wage increase in the first year, two per cent in the
second, 1.5 per cent in the third and 1.5 per cent in the fourth. The employer
also rejected the union's demand to eliminate regional pay zones, where the
same work is paid differently according to geographical locations. The
employer further refused the union's demands for an increase in allowances.
"Their offer is less than half of what we were demanding for fair annual
wage increases that would protect our members against inflation and reflect
the current strength of the Canadian economy," Baldwin said. "Not only has the
employer failed to consider our position at the bargaining table, they've been
misrepresenting our bargaining demands in communicating with our members and
the public."
Media articles have quoted Parks Canada Agency spokespeople saying the
union's demands for wage increase amount to a total of 47 per cent.
"That's a total distortion of our demand," says Baldwin. "Our proposal
for wage increases includes demands to eliminate pay zones and to close the
wage gaps identified in a pay study for our members working in trades. I don't
know what kind of calculations the employer is making, but even if you take
all our demands into consideration, it would not amount to 47 per cent."
The pay study by the firm Moreau-Sobeco in 2003 clearly indicates that
the wages paid to Parks trades workers are much lower than those paid to other
private and public workers doing similar work.
"The Agency and the federal public service sector are having problems
with retaining employees," Baldwin said. "The employer's wage offer is a long
way from solving this problem. We're left with no choice now but to take
action. The employer can expect our members to bring our message to UNESCO at
the World Heritage events in Quebec city and at world heritage sites this
summer."
PSAC members at Parks Canada have been without a contract since August
2007.
For further information: Joselito Calugay, PSAC communications officer,
(613) 560-4235, (613) 293-9324 (cell)
SOURCE: Public Service Alliance of Canada |
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NEWS UPDATE 
