OTTAWA - The members of four unions at the Parks Canada Agency have now been joined under one of the country’s largest national unions - the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Last December the Public Service Staff Relations Board ordered that all Parks Canada Agency (PCA) employees be included in a single PCA wide bargaining unit. "We are extremely pleased that these workers chose the PSAC to represent them, and look forward to future negotiations and building a strong workplace presence," says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel.

"With the Parks Canada Agency as a separate employer, the issues of Parks workers that were never resolved in negotiations with Treasury Board will now be front and centre at the negotiating table," Turmel continues. "There are many challenges these workers face in a Parks world of more demands and fewer resources and, as the sole bargaining agent, we look forward to building a stronger union presence at the Agency."

Tony White, PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Atlantic and the officer responsible for bargaining at the Agency, adds that the PSAC can continue to build on the accomplishments it has made over the past several years at the Agency. "The results of this vote should send a strong message to the employer that we are serious about achieving a collective agreement that recognizes and provides a fair and decent salary and benefits to those workers dedicated to delivering and supporting Parks Canada programs," says White.

White adds that PSAC union representatives worked at all levels to ensure term and determinant employees were converted to indeterminate status as employees moved to the Agency. "In addition, we have worked with our Locals across the country over the past year to identify bargaining demands and organize an Eastern, a Western and a National bargaining conference to carefully prepare the groundwork for negotiations."

When the vote was called the PSAC made a commitment to members of the other unions that should it be successful, full consideration would be given to their collective agreements and it would work towards having their first collective agreement reflect the best language of all the collective agreements in place. It is also the union’s intention to expand the bargaining team to ensure representation of all workers at the Agency.

In their concluding remarks, Turmel and White added that the PSAC is committed to building on the work of the past several years to provide positive and productive representation in the months ahead.

In addition to the PSAC, the other unions at the Agency were the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the Social Science and Economists Association (SSEA) and the Association of Public Service Financial Administrators (APSFA). The vote was between the PSAC and PIPSC.

For information: Nancy Mitchell, communications officer, PSAC, (613) 560-4235

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