IQALUIT - In a move to accelerate negotiations that have been dragging for almost a year, the 1,300 members of the Nunavut Employees Union, a Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), will be asked to vote in favour of a strike.

From October 23 to November 9, 2000, the union will organize meetings with members across Nunavut to inform them of the progress of the negotiations and to ask their support for strike action. The results of the strike vote will be known on November 9.

According to the President of the Nunavut Employees Union (NEU), Doug Workman, a strike vote is seen as the only way to motivate the Nunavut Government to deal seriously with the monetary issues at the table. "We have been negotiating since December 6, 1999," says Workman, "but the employer does not want to recognize the real costs associated with living in Nunavut. We want our members to get a cost of living allowance that is similar to what federal public service employees living in Nunavut are receiving. We believe this is a fair demand and a way to ensure that the Nunavut Government is able to recruit and to retain its employees."

Parties will resume negotiations during the week of November 13, 2000. The union wants to have a strong strike mandate before going back to the table. In addition, the PSAC will apply for mediation.

"If we can work a deal on the Nunavut Equalization Allowance," adds Workman, "we will be close to a deal with the employer. Our members used to have this kind of allowance before 1996, when we were part of the Northwest Territories, and since it ceased, the government has had real difficulties to recruit and retain its employees. Over the next weeks, we will be visiting our members across Nunavut to explain the reasons we are asking their support for a strike vote. But we believe that if the Nunavut Government accepts to compensate them fairly for the staggering costs of living they incur, we can sign a new collective agreement pretty fast." 

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Spokesperson: Doug Workman, President
                                Nunavut Employees Union
                                (867) 979-4209