Yellowknife (Aug 22/01) - Cordoned off in a small area marked by yellow police tape, 68 federal workers waited over an hour in blustery rain, wind, and near-freezing temperatures to get the prime minister's attention Monday.

"Moo," said protester Trudy Samuels to illustrate the penned-up feeling she experienced waiting in the rectangular space. "It's just like our cubicles."

Just less than three metres of the designated protest area at Weledeh school was exposed to the prime minister's motorcade as it rounded a corner. Jean Chretien was guest of honour at a private function in the gymnasium.

The protest was staged by two bargaining units of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which is not happy with a wage offer to civil servants amounting to about two per cent yearly for three years.

As guests arrived at the prime minister's function, many aboard buses, the cold protesters kept up their energy up with chants like "Ethel's raise is heaven-sent but two per cent won't pay the rent." An actor pretending to be Chretien staged a mock question-and-answer session.

MPs, including Western Arctic's Ethel Blondin-Andrew, recently voted themselves 20.6 per cent raises. The prime minister got 40 per cent.

"I'm really disappointed that Ethel didn't come out and talk to us," said union spokesman Debbie McLaughlin.

McLaughlin said she was "extremely pleased" with the protest and the fact the RCMP agreed to allow the union to set up in an area that would be visible from the prime minister's vehicle.