July 25, 2008
News release
Parks Canada workers seek public support, respect for their work
Louisbourg, N.S. – Workers at Parks Canada and their supporters are calling on visitors to the Fortress of Louisbourg to acknowledge that respect for the work performed by heritage workers is an important aspect of preserving and protecting Canada's natural and cultural heritage.
“Workers operate and maintain historic buildings, monuments, canals and locks,” says Jack Norris, a member of the Public Service Alliance who is on the Parks bargaining team. “These are the workers who protect and preserve our national parks and natural heritage areas and who explain to the public the significance of our history. Doesn't it make sense then that respect for our heritage should also include respect for the work performed by these workers?”
Bearing the slogan, “Respect for workers is respect for heritage,” Parks Canada workers and their supporters gathered in Louisbourg to distribute information materials and raise awareness about the important role of heritage workers. The public is being asked to remind the federal government that it must provide the proper working conditions for these workers to do their critical jobs.
“The workers at Parks Canada are committed and they take great pride in carrying out their mandate,” says Norris. “However, Parks Canada workers are finding it harder and harder to do their important work when they are faced with continued job insecurity and unfair working conditions.”
The year-long contract negotiations between Parks Canada workers and their employer stalled in May when negotiators for the employer refused to address the union's key issues and then walked away from the table. These issues include no contracting out, the privatization of parks services, the downsizing of the bargaining unit and issues surrounding the arming of park wardens.
“The employer's position and tactics at the bargaining table are stale and have become pretty dated,” says Norris. “I guess those are bits of heritage that we kind of hope they wouldn't preserve.”
The more than 4,000 PSAC members at Parks Canada have been without a contract since August 2007.
For information:
Janice Grant, PSAC regional representative 902-476-2006
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Date Modified : 2008/11/18
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