OTTAWA – Members of Local 70397 of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography voted strongly in favour of a strike this week. They have thus given their negotiating team the mandate to unleash strike action if required to bring their employer back to the bargaining table to begin contract talks anew.

Members are hoping that management at the Gallery will heed their urgent appeals and resume discussions with more realistic contract proposals in hand. They are determined to reject any new offer, however, that fails to take into account the current inflation rate, and wage settlements arrived at recently with unionized employees in other national museums.

To illustrate their "dogged" determination to hold out for a reasonable contract offer, and to underline their frustration with management’s cavalier approach to the negotiating process, workers put on a "dog and pony show" (minus the ponies) of their own today at noon in front of the Gallery. "Throw us a bone!" could be read on the stickers with which they festooned themselves and their four-legged friends for the event, a jocular reference to Director Pierre Théberge’s two mascots and constant canine companions, Airedales "Bobinette" and "Pistache".

Talks broke off at the employer’s request on March 2, 2001, following concerted attempts to resolve the outstanding issues with a conciliator. Management improved its initial salary offer from a ludicrous low of 0.8% to 2% in the first year of a proposed five-year deal, but this percentage increase still falls significantly below the current inflation rate of 3% in the region. In addition, after a relatively smooth round of negotiations, PSAC members at the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the Canada Aviation Museum recently signed an agreement guaranteeing them a 2.5% increase in the first year of their new contract.

"We are ready and willing to return to the bargaining table", stated Jim Prowse, President of the Gallery’s PSAC Local, "but we expect the employer to present us with an offer that will compensate us fairly, and not further diminish the modest salary and benefit package that we already have. We’re not trying to bite the proverbial hand that feeds us, but are simply seeking tangible recognition and respect for the professional expertise we provide to the Gallery on a daily basis."

Workers at the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography are in legal strike position since 0:01 a.m. today.

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Information:    Jim Prowse, President and Bargaining Team member, PSAC Local 70397, 990-1975
                        Anne Jolicoeur, Bargaining Team member, PSAC Local 70397, 990-7549