OTTAWA - "The federal government is very good at establishing committees and task forces on public sector reform but has a very bad track record of accepting any of their recommendations," says Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Nycole Turmel on the release of the Report of the Advisory Committee on Labour Management Relations in the Federal Public Service.

"The Advisory Committee, chaired by John Fryer, has produced 33 recommendations outlining a new process for labour management relations in the federal public sector, a process that is badly in need of an overhaul," according to Turmel. "However, we need more than a new process, we need a serious adjustment in the government’s attitude as well."

"Bargaining with the federal government is an exercise in frustration and confrontation because the employer comes to the table without a willingness and a mandate to negotiate. Despite appointing the Advisory Committee, there is little indication that the government has grasped the fundamentals of bargaining. In fact, while the Advisory Committee’s Report is being released this week, federal negotiators are before conciliation boards defending wage proposals that will see a further decline in the real incomes of federal workers represented by PSAC."

PSAC welcomes many of the Advisory Committee’s unanimous recommendations, particularly those related to the right to file union grievances, to the issue of essential services and the designation of positions as essential, and to the establishment of a Compensation Research Bureau. In addition, the Committee’s recommendations on staffing and classification are a step in the right direction. But, the union doubts the government’s willingness to even consider the recommendations and is seriously concerned that the reform process in the federal public sector has become the prerogative of the senior bureaucracy.

"While the tripartite Advisory Committee consulted and worked to come up with consensus recommendations, the recently appointed Quail Task Force - yet one more step in the so-called reform process - consists exclusively of senior executives," says Turmel. "In this case, consultation with federal workers will be limited to and, to a large extent, conducted by the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada (APEX), an organization representing these same executives.

According to Turmel, "this approach is fundamentally wrong. I call on the President of the Treasury Board to table the Advisory Committee Report in Parliament and allow the Report to be reviewed by a Parliamentary committee this fall."

The PSAC’s position on public sector reform is focused on providing federal workers with the same rights enjoyed by other workers in Canadian society and includes bringing labour relations legislation in line with the Canada Labour Code.

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For information: Nycole Turmel, PSAC national president, (613) 560-4330

The union’s position on the issues addressed by the Advisory Committee are summarized in a ten-point plan available on the union’s web site at www.psac-afpc.com

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