Wed. Sep. 8 2004 6:00 PM ET
Revenue Canada workers begin rotating strikes
CTV.ca News Staff
Thousands of Revenue Canada employees have begun rotating strikes after
talks with the government broke down.
About 8,000 employees of the federal tax agency walked off the job
Wednesday
in Ontario and British Columbia. A picket line went up this morning at the
regional taxation centre in Sudbury, Ont., where 1,400 workers are off the
job. But office in Ottawa were untouched.
About 25,000 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency are in a legal strike
position. The dispute involves members of PSAC, the Public Service
Alliance
of Canada. They do everything from processing tax returns and GST refunds
to
answering phones. The major stumbling block is wages.
The union says the job action will slow the flow of tax money into federal
coffers, but not the flow out.
Child tax credits and GST rebate cheques will head out in the mail because
those services have been declared essential.
This isn't the only dispute going on between the federal government and
its
unionized staff. Parks Canada employees, who are also members of PSAC,
have
been on rotating strikes since Aug. 13.
And many Customs Canada workers at border points across the country are
also
working to rule. They've been waving many people across the border, often
without making them pay taxes on goods bought in the U.S.
The government is re****tedly offering union members less than that
recommended by a mediator. Workers were asking for an increase of about
eight per cent over three years; the government offered around six per
cent,
both sides said.
In a statement released Tuesday night, Revenue Canada called its offer
reasonable.
"The CRA's wages and benefits are already competitive with Treasury Board
and other federal public service employers," the statement said.
"In addition, some recent studies have shown that compensation for most
federal public service employees is also competitive with that of their
counterparts in the private sector."
PSAC's national president says no further talks are scheduled.
Martin comments
A small but noisy group of protesters forced Prime Minister Paul Martin to
****ft a press conference at the end of his two-day cabinet meeting in
Kelowna, B.C. indoors.
"All labour negotiations, especially when they lead to strike action, are
very difficult," he told re****ters on Wednesday.
"We have enormous respect for the dedication of the public sectors
employees
and we really hope that we'll be able to arrive at a settlement fairly
soon.
We certainly do want a settlement that is fair to everyone."
CTV's Rosemary Thompson told Newsnet besides the challenge of making a
deal
on health care with the premiers next week, Martin has PSAC "poised for
strike action.
"It's a big contract, it's worth a lot of money. Obviously the government
doesn't want a prolonged walkout."
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