'We are not bluffing': N.W.T. gov't workers could be on picket lines next week

Thousands of employees at the N.W.T. government could be on the picket lines on Monday morning, as the Union of Northern Workers (UNW) served strike notice Tuesday afternoon.

Union of Northern Workers president Todd Parsons delivered the hard deadline Tuesday at a press conference at the union's headquarters in Yellowknife.

"We will act and we mean business," Parsons said.

"At midnight on Monday February 11 we will commence strike action in a full and general strike in all of our communities if we are not successful in our efforts to reach a tentative agreement.

"We remain very committed to reaching a tentative agreement with this employer, but time is running out. We need the government to understand that we are not bluffing."

The notice says the union is preparing a "new comprehensive offer" and will make a "last-ditch effort" to come to a new agreement.

We feel that we've been very fair in our discussions with UNW.- Minister RobertC. McLeod

The territorial government and the UNW, which represents about 4,000 government employees, have been at a standstill in negotiations of a new collective agreement. The union has been without an agreement since 2016.

Theissues includewage increases and the government's use of relief workers.

The union is asking for three-per-cent wage increases every year for a period of three years. The government's latest offer includes no salary increases for the first two years of a new five-year collective agreement (retroactive to 2016, the expiry of the first agreement), then salary increases of 1.4 per cent over the next two years and a 1.7 per cent increase in 2020.

• N.W.T. public servants vote 70% yes to strike, but union said it won't just yet
• UNW 'trying to bluff' with strike threats and it's not working, says expert

Picket line

Parsons said striking workers would be expected to spend four hours a day on the picket line or in some other strike support-related activity. Parsons said strike pay is approximately $117 per day.

Government workers designated as essential workers would be exempt from the strike. Parsons said he didn't know off handhow many workers would meet that criteria, but the majority would not.

Wewill act and we mean business.- Todd Parsons, UNW president

The strike notice was briefly discussed in the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly Tuesday afternoon.

"A strike is not something that anybody wants, it's not something that people in the Northwest Territories want, especially the employees," saidRobert C.McLeod, the territory's minister of finance.

"We feel that we've been very fair in our discussions with UNW. Again, that remains to be seen. So we'll have a better idea after the mediation this weekend to see what type of position we're in."

The territorial government and the union bargaining team willmeet withmediatorVinceReady, on Feb.8 and 9, in an attempt to come to a new agreement.

But the government is preparing for the worst.

In a memo to government workers late Tuesday afternoon, the deputy minister of finance, David Stewart, outlined some of theterritory's strike plans.

In the absence of an agreement between the union and the government, nonessential employees are to prepare for Monday's deadline by leaving all government issued laptops, cell phones, credit cards, keys and fobs at their desks by the end of their last shifts before the deadline.

"All unionized employees who did not recieve an Essential or Emergency Services letter, will be placed on strike leave effective February 11, 2019," the memo states.

The memoalso states more information will be released later in the week.

The two sides met with Ready in October, withtalks breaking down a day earlier than scheduled.

In the spring of 2018, the union held a strike vote, which resulted in70 per cent of respondents voting in favour.

That figure was characterized as lowby labour expert KennethThornicroftlast month, sayinghe believed repeated strike threats from the union could have been an attempt at a bluff.

The UNW is representing several groups of public sector employees currently negotiating with the N.W.T. government, including employees of the N.W.T. Power Corporation and the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority.

The N.W.T. Power Corporation is currently in a strike position, while the Hay River authority held a strike vote last week, and is expected to announce the results Wednesday.

• Hay River Health and Social Services Authority bargaining team relieved of duties

Notice comes as legislature sits

Both the government and union have blamed each other for the standstill, with both sides releasing statements claiming the other is offering misleading facts when it comes to pay, employee status, and the government's current fiscal position.

• Union, gov't blame each other as strike looms

The union's latest move comes as the territory's MLAs return to the legislature to begin their spring sitting. The state of negotiations isexpected to be a major point of discussion, andMinister McLeod is expected to present the territory's budget Wednesday.

• Budget, bills and bargaining: N.W.T. MLAs return to legislature for busiest sitting yet

On Tuesday morning, Parsons and several union representatives sat in the Legislative Assembly's gallery watching the proceedings.