NorthwesTel, union one per cent away from deal

PATRICIA D’SOUZA

It is 2 weeks into a strike by 375 NorthwesTel employees in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, there is no end in sight.

NorthwesTel and the union representing striking workers have been unable to reach an agreement in their wage dispute, despite returning to the bargaining table last Wednesday.

Union members walked off the job May 31. It is the first strike in the company’s history.

The union wants a five per cent wage increase in the first year of the contract, another five per cent increase in the second year and a 25� an hour increase in hourly wages.

NorthwesTel’s offer is three per cent in the first year, three and a half per cent in the second and third years and a one-and-a-half per cent bonus in each of the three years.

On June 5, the union presented a revised offer of four and a half per cent in each of the three years of the contract. On June 7, they learned that the company had rejected the offer.

“They seem pretty entrenched and determined that they can run the operation without skilled union members,” said Cary Gryba, unit chairperson of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union representing the workers.

As the strike drags on, striking employees are becoming frustrated by what they see as a double standard, Gryba said.

According to the union, the company is paying managers more than double what union members earn to do the work, providing them with catered lunches and subsidized daycare.

“There are single mothers walking the picket line and watching catered banquets being brought in to people trying to do their jobs. We’re used to bringing a brown bag to lunch,” he said.

“In Iqaluit, there are salespeople climbing poles. You’ve got a 55-year-old manager and you’re saying to him, ‘Hey buddy, go climb up that 30-foot pole and hook up a telephone line.’ I’m sure some of them must be sitting down and wondering if they really want to do this.”

The company and the union have been in contract negotiations since October. All other outstanding contract issues were settled before the strike, and as the two sides try to come to a compromise, they appear to be one per cent away from a deal.

Both have taken out ads in the media to inform customers of their positions. NorthwesTel’s ad provides a list of phone numbers for customers to call for directory assistance, bill payments, repairs and general inquiries.

“We would like to assure our customers that we are making every effort to continue to provide you with services as close to normal as possible under these circumstances,” it reads.

The union’s ad similarly encourages customers to call NorthwesTel for service requests — and goes one step further, telling them to report the company to the CRTC if their requests aren’t filled on time.

“It is NorthwesTel’s responsibility to provide you with full and prompt service even during this dispute,” it reads. “If for any reason you find service provided does not meet your expectations, it is your right to bring your concerns to the attention of the CRTC.”

In addition, Gryba said a drawn-out work stoppage could threaten NorthwesTel’s service improvement plan, a four to five year target to improve telephone infrastructure in the North. The company receives a subsidy paid by Southern telcos to fund the work.

“The funding is contingent on meeting goals. We, the IBEW, are seriously questioning how they can accomplish the criteria that they intend to accomplish. The labour stoppage will affect construction scheduling. Who will they get to do the work?” he said.

“We’re more than half of the team that makes this telephone company tick.”