No.2, May 5, 1997

Q. How are Pay Equity Talks going?

A. The Alliance is ready to go and National President Daryl Bean will be at the helm. We have been attempting to get a commitment from Treasury Board to sit down and negotiate. However, Treasury Board does not have its team in place nor a position on many outstanding issues.

Q. Why did Treasury Board leak the Pay Equity media release?

A. We see it as nothing more than a trial balloon to see how much pressure PSAC members would put on their union to take this "proposed partial offer", site unseen.

Q. What is Treasury Board's rationale in being willing to pay only 65% of what is owed?

A. Treasury Board has no rationale. Treasury Board has said they calculated the wage gap and they are only paying 65% of the total amount.

Q. When does Treasury Board intend to commit to adding the payments to our salaries?

A. Treasury Board has changed its position since the Tribunal Hearings. At the hearings Treasury Board said they were willing to add wage adjusments to salary effective April 1, 1987. Now they have reneged on that position.

Q. As far as monies owed on maternity leave, overtime, severance pay, acting pay and other similar entitlements hasn't Treasury Board had long enough to take a position on these issues?

A. We agree. Treasury Board has had 14 years to make up their mind. The problem is that Treasury Board has changed positions on many issues, many times.

Q. Did the Alliance include the ERI/EDI in its submission?

A. The Alliance's consistent position is that equal pay wage adjustments should be paid for everything based on salary, such as, acting pay, maternity leave, severance pay, promotions, DI and ERI/EDI. That is what the law requires.

Treasury Board's position in our preliminary discussions after the April 21^st "partial offer" is that they agree that it should be included for superannuation purposes.

Q. What is the Alliance position on how much interest should be paid on retroactive payments?

A. At the Tribunal, our position was that compound interest should be paid. Treasury Board's position before the Tribunal was for simple interest. This is another area on which Treasury Board has not provided a position.

Q. How many issues are left to resolve?

A. Many. They include the size of the wage gap, retroactivity, interest, damages, application of adjustments to severance pay, maternity leave, leave without pay, acting pay and other salary entitlements, promotions - for example, being promoted from the CR or ST group to the AS or PM group; transfers from the federal government to separate agencies.

Q. How much longer will it take to get a complete offer?

A. For an answer to this we encourage you to ask Treasury Board. We are ready to sit down and negotiate. Send Treasury Board President Marcel Masse another letter telling him to get on with the job and to sit down and negotiate the full amount that you are owed.

Q. What is stopping Treasury Board from issuing interim cheques for the amount they agree they owe?

A. Absolutely nothing. They did it once before back in 1990. They can do it again. However, you, the members, must put pressure on Treasury Board. Keep those faxes and letters going to Masse. Many of you have been calling your union. We encourage you to call Treasury Board - your Employer - and ask them when they are going to begin negotiations on pay equity. Also ask them why they're not issuing the interim cheques.

Remember, your Employer - Treasury Board - has made a dramatic improvement in its position on Pay Equity. The recognition that millions, if not billions, are owed, is far different from the previous Treasury Board position that 'no more money should be paid'.

During the election campaign, demand commitments on Pay Equity from all candidates.

Q. When is the next meeting scheduled?

A. On April 22^nd we formally replied to Treasury Board advising then that we were prepared to hold further meetings. On April 29^th, National President Daryl Bean personally phoned Alain Jolicoeur's office to schedule further meetings. On May 5^th, President Bean forwarded a fax to Mr. Jolicoeur requesting dates for further meetings.