Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 17/01) - About 50 federal civil servants in Yellowknife are joining thousands across Canada in a wage protest called Workless Wednesdays.

They are displeased that Members of Parliament voted themselves a 20 per cent pay hike, while the Treasury Board of Canada offered most civil servants a six per cent raise over three years.

"It's a bit of an insult, when you're not respected for what you do," said Anne Juneau, who was picketing outside MP Ethel Blondin-Andrew's office August 15.

Juneau and other protesters are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Pickets were also set up in Hay River and Inuvik. In smaller NWT communities like Fort Smith, federal workers didn't picket but took the day off, said PSAC representative Debbie McLaughlin.

Full-time administrative and program employees now earn between $25,000 and $80,000 a year, with the average being $41,025, according to the treasury board. NWT workers also receive a northern living allowance.

Negotiation sessions are set for August 21 and 23.

"We've asked for better vacations, severance and better conditions for term employees," McLaughlin said.

There are 150 civil servants in Yellowknife represented by PSAC, and 750 throughout NWT, Nunavut and Yukon.

Union members plan to walk off the job the next two Wednesdays - August 22 and 29.

The government's program personnel, administrators and operations staff are the only ones in a legal strike position. That's 77,000 people across the country, but 20,000 of those will stay on the job because they're considered essential, says Treasury Board spokesman Edison Stewart.

"We hope to resolve these issues at the bargaining table," he said.

In July a conciliator reported that operations staff should receive a 7.5 per cent pay increase over three years.