Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 01/99) - The new president of the Union of Northern Workers says a recent Federal Court ruling bodes well for the UNW's dispute with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

"Union members should be very pleased with the Federal Court's ruling against the Chretien government in the Treasury Board employee's pay equity dispute," Georgina Rolt-Kaiser said.

"I agree with human rights lawyer Mary Cornish who said that this judgement tells employers that they've got to live with pay equity."

It appears the federal government will not attempt further court action.

The Treasury Board Secretariat and the Public Service Alliance of Canada held an in-camera meeting last week to discuss what implementation of the 1998 tribunal decision, which was upheld by the Federal Court, would mean.

"The Union of Northern Workers' pay equity case is before the human rights tribunal right now and this (Federal Court) decision certainly supports our position," Rolt-Kaiser said.

The union continues to press for a tribunal decision despite the recent batch of pay equity cheques sent out by the GNWT.

To deal with the NWT pay equity situation, the GNWT sent cheques to union and non-union members.

The GNWT paid out over $27 million to 5,333 current and past employees.

Dozens, if not hundreds more, former GNWT employees are still out there who deserve compensation but, despite GNWT advertising, they have not come forward.

"We believe our individual settlement offers were very reasonable. Clearly so did the 82 per cent of current and former employees who received and accepted them," Finance Minister Charles Dent said.

Despite the acceptance, the union and the Public Service Alliance of Canada are continuing to force a lengthy and expensive tribunal process, Dent said.

Government has spent over $1.5 million on pay equity legal fees defending the union's $300-million claim, Dent also said.

Union representatives are quick to point out that the government's payout was with individuals. It was not a deal between the government and the union, Barb Wyness, public relations and resource officer with the union, said.

There is also skepticism about government's use of the 82 per cent figure. Non-union government employees, not part of the complaint, would certainly accept the money, Wyness said.

In fact, some non-union government employees called the union about the cheques they received. The union suggested people go ahead and cash them.

The original pay equity complaint was filed in 1984 and carried a year's retroactivity.

It is estimated about 500 NWT residents and 100 Nunavut residents could be affected by the federal pay equity decision.