Collective agreement talks grind away in Iqaluit last week

Union negotiators who represent Nunavut government workers want their next wage and benefit deal to offer job protection for employees who expose government wrongdoing, but their employer already says no to the idea.

In talks between the Nunavut Employees Union and the Government of Nunavut held Oct. 3, union officials presented the GN with a set of words they want added to a new collective agreement.

The proposed new clause would ensure that any territorial government employee who blows the whistle on GN wrongdoing or incompetence would not suffer retribution.

But during the next day's bargaining session, held Oct. 4, GN negotiators rejected the idea.

Under the union's proposal, the clause would protect people who report violations of federal or territorial laws or regulations, the significant waste of public money, and threats to public health and safety or the environment.

Doug Workman, the president of the NEU, would not comment on any aspect of the current collective agreement talks between his union and the GN – because to do so could amount to bargaining in bad faith.

The NEU's website, however, contains information for union members on the current status of wage and benefit talks, and includes a copy of the union's proposed whistle blower protection clause:

"XX.01 No employee shall be disciplined or otherwise penalized, including but not limited to demotion, suspension, dismissal, financial penalty, loss of seniority, advancement or opportunity in the Public Service as a result of disclosing any wrongful act or omission, such as an offence against an Act of Parliament, or Act of a legislature of any province or territory or any instrument issued under any such Act; an act or omission likely to cause a significant waste of public money; an act or omission likely to endanger public health or safety of the environment.

The NEU website says these words are intended to complement "any potential language that the GN may or may not include in a revised Public Service Act."

Hunter Tootoo, the MLA for Iqaluit Centre, has long advocated the creation of a whistle blower protection law in Nunavut, but until now, the GN has shown little interest in pursuing the idea. It's also not clear when or if the GN will go to work on the creation of a new Public Service Act to replace the one inherited from the Northwest Territories.

Collective agreement talks between GN and NEU negotiators broke off Oct. 5 and are set to resume Dec. 3.

Their last collective agreement expired September 2006. At the first round of bargaining in December 2006, the union presented its opening position to the GN in a document that contained 69 proposals for change.

A second round of bargaining didn't get underway until this past April. That's because the GN needed time to replace its chief negotiator, who departed his GN job early in 2007.

At that second round, the GN rejected 47 of the union's 69 proposals but offered to discuss most of the others.

In sessions held since April, the two sides focused mostly on non-monetary issues, and it could be many months before negotiators start talking seriously about money. That's because the GN is likely waiting to see if the next federal budget includes income tax cuts that could benefit northern wage-earners.

However, an NEU discussion document tabled Oct. 3 suggests the union may seek big increases to the northern allowance payments that are aimed at helping employees cope with Nunavut's high cost of living.

The document shows the GN's northern allowance system gives employees much less than the the federal government's isolated post allowance.

The union also says they want a reinstatement of the vacation travel allowance. Their proposal would provide two VTAs per year to employees and dependents.

The hottest issue may turn out to be the GN's increasing use of contract workers, especially non-union nurses hired through employment agencies.

The NEU alleges these contract nurses actually cost the GN more money than nurses who are permanent employees.

"If the only way to attract nurses to Nunavut is to pay them at the level of agency nurses then the message is clear. GN must drastically improve the compensation package for the nurses employed by GN or, eventually, all the nurses will be agency nurses," the union's website says.

Last week, NEU officials met members of Local 3, a new unit that represents nurses across the territory, to clarify what nurses want in a new collective agreement.