At rally, union says GNWT’s cash-strapped message is ‘getting old’

The Union of Northern Workers said the territorial government was failing to act on workers’ “skyrocketing” living costs as members staged a rally outside the NWT legislature on Wednesday.

The rally took members across the street from the Chateau Nova Hotel, where the UNW’s triennial convention is being held, to the Legislative Assembly, where MLAs are in the middle of their fall sitting.

A collective agreement covering thousands of GNWT workers expired in March. The territorial government declared impasse in August, meaning it felt progress could only be made with the help of a third party, and a mediator will start working with both sides in January.

Gayla Thunstrom – currently the union’s president, though an election for the next three-year term is scheduled for Thursday and has multiple candidates – told the crowd the UNW “was taken by surprise” when the GNWT asked for mediation.

“There was still room for movement and discussion,” Thunstrom said.

Finance minister Caroline Wawzonek said last week the territory is now forecasting a deficit this financial year and warned of a “difficult” economic picture in the medium term.

Thunstrom said that message was “getting old.”

“They have laid off workers, closed community centres, closed the Fort Smith Correctional Centre and are leaving positions vacant, all to save money off our backs,” she said.

“The cost of living is skyrocketing and yet the Northern Living Allowance” – extra cash paid to GNWT staff to offset the cost of living in the NWT – “went down this year in all the communities,” Thunstrom added.

“This is unheard-of and clearly demonstrates that the formula for this allowance is broken, yet the GNWT was not interested.”

In a statement, the territorial government said it was “committed to reaching a fair and sustainable collective agreement.”

The GNWT did not comment on specific allegations from the union, saying it would not negotiate “through the media,” but stated mediation was “a normal part of the collective bargaining process and provides an opportunity for both parties to work with a neutral third party to identify potential paths forward.”

“The Government of the Northwest Territories respects the collective bargaining process, values the contributions of its employees, and will participate in mediation in good faith,” the territory’s statement concluded.

“The focus remains on finding common ground and reaching an agreement that can be supported by both parties.”

‘Fundamentally, I agree,’ says MLA

Rally attendees, many armed with whistles, made plenty of noise as MLAs gathered for the afternoon’s statements and oral questions inside the legislature chamber.

“They’re inside that building, meeting, and they’re talking about important topics. And you know what? We are here too. And they need to hear us,” said Public Service Alliance of Canada national president Sharon DeSousa, who is in Yellowknife for this week’s convention.

Several MLAs spent time at the rally.

“Fundamentally, yeah, I agree with everything that was said here today,” said Great Slave MLA Kate Reid, a former UNW local president.

“I am concerned that we are teetering on austerity, and I don’t want that to come on the backs of workers.”

Frame Lake MLA Julian Morse said many of his constituents are GNWT employees and he could see some of them in the crowd.

“I just wanted to show them that I’m listening,” he said.

Jacques Roberge, an attendee at the rally, said he wanted to be there to “remind both parties at the table that it’s been 211 days today, as far as I can calculate, that we’re waiting for a collective bargaining agreement.”

His presence served a secondary purpose as a reminder of the union’s own difficulties. Roberge described himself as a suspended union member, having previously gone to court to protest that suspension and mounted his own one-man demonstration outside the UNW’s own building. The union is also facing a separate court action from former members of its executive.

Roberge said he wants to see a union members’ bill of rights created.

Union members should have “the right to information, the right to participate, and protection against retaliation for expressing their opinions and exercising free speech,” he said. (The union’s parent, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, previously said it “takes its responsibility to ensure a respectful, inclusive, and safe environment for all members very seriously.”)

Josée-Anne Spirito, PSAC’s regional executive vice-president for the North, said the GNWT needs to do more for its existing employees.

“Sometimes there’s a big focus on recruitment of new employees, but we need to really invest and look at retention of employees as well,” Spirito said.

“Having an impasse called less than a year within this process is a little bit disheartening, right now, for this workforce that keeps the territory going, day after day.”