“Let’s face it,” says Shelley Ward, PEI UPSE president, “the Liberals provide great lip service when it comes to being labour - friendly. The Premier and his government’s record is no better than the Harper government’s record when it comes to disrespecting the bargaining process and attacking working people."
Charlottetown (23 June 2011) - On June 21, the PEI Union of Public Sector Employees (PEIUPSE/NUPGE) attended a very disappointing conciliation session with representatives of the government, in an effort to finalize the collective agreement as it relates to casual employees. In February 2011, during an arbitration with regular employees, the government refused to include casual employees’ issues in discussions.
Shelley Ward, PEIUPSE president noted, “the most important issue on the table was that casual employees should be allowed preference over the general public in open job competitions as long as minimum qualifications for the job are first met. This proposal is fair because it ensures that a casual employee’s experience in the civil service will count when it comes to competing for a position."
She continued, "However, the government is against this idea because it would make patronage appointments and political control over the casual workforce more difficult. They like the flexibility of being able to put anyone into a job regardless of their experience – it’s part of what enables patronage on P.E.I.”
Ward also expressed concern about the Liberal government’s “take it or leave it” stance during conciliation. "They didn’t show up to bargain in good faith on behalf of their own employees,” said Ward. “They presented a proposal that was entirely unsatisfactory and then refused to negotiate further with the union. We see this as yet another example of this Liberal government’s disrespect of its casual employees.”
“Let’s face it,” says Ward, “the Liberals provide great lip service when it comes to being labour - friendly. The Premier and his government’s record is no better than the Harper government’s record when it comes to disrespecting the bargaining process and attacking working people. The Liberal government has turned its back on casual civil service employees in Prince Edward Island.”
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
