Jessica Klinkenberg
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 17, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The final sitting of the legislative assembly opened Wednesday with two dozen striking youth home workers picketing outside, after they were locked out by their employer.

Fort Smith's Trailcross Treatment Centre staff had been locked out for nine days as of Wednesday.

Staff include 17 part-time and full-time counsellors and support workers.

They work at Trailcross with 13-16-year-olds with emotional, social and/or behavioural problems.

Bringing the issue to the legislative assembly is a step towards resolution, said Todd Parsons, president for the Union of Northern Workers, who marched with the picketers.

"One of our primary reasons here today is to boost the profile of the relationship between Bosco Homes and (their staff)."

Bosco Homes is the Edmonton-based not-for-profit group that operates the facility.

"We believe that the residents of the Northwest Territories should be informed of how their money is being utilized as taxpayers by Bosco Homes," Parsons said.

For 17 months the staff have been working without a contract.

Health and Social Services moved the eight children staying at the facility out in early August after contract talks broke down.

Staff were subsequently locked out when Bosco Homes reportedly told them there was no work for them.

"There's still administrative work, paper work," said Pam Gallant, the bargaining member for the workers' negotiation team.

She said they would ideally like to see Bosco Homes move on its position regarding overtime pay.

Gallant and Parsons said that the current procedure at Trailcross is that overtime is banked for a year before staff receive it. Parsons said that amounts to approximately $2,000-$10,000 worth of overtime per year. The territorial government is looking to table a bill forcing companies to payout overtime every three months.

"We're ready to go back to the table to talk," Gallant said.

The legislative assembly, Thebacha MLA Michael Miltenberger - a former manager of the facility - said he hopes to see the dispute end soon.

"Clearly a strike helps no one in the long run," he said.

"There is a host of children out there that require the services that Trailcross provides."

Range Lake MLA Sandy Lee concurred.

G.R. "Gus" Rozycky, executive director of Bosco Homes, was unavailable for comment by press time.

- with files from Adam Johnson and Paul Bickford.