(Ottawa) Some 190 civilian employees from the military bases of Valcartier, Bagotville and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are demanding a salary equivalent to that of their Ontario colleagues. They sometimes earn almost $10 an hour less. Their strike has lasted 117 days. The Bloc Québécois and their union are demanding an end to a 30-year-old decree that led to this inequity.
“I would like to ask you if there might not be discrimination based on language,” said Yvon, the regional executive vice-president for Quebec of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Barrière, at a press briefing on Friday.
These employees are part of what the government calls non-public funds. These are, for example, clerks, assistants or kinesiologists. These positions were initially created in the 1960s for military spouses. A decree adopted in 1982 excluded these employees from the Public Service Employment Act.
“As they are not recognized as civil servants, conditions vary enormously from one military base to another and we also see this between Quebec and, for example, Ontario,” explained the Bloc Québécois MP, Christine Normandin. The Saint-Jean military base is located in his constituency.
The salary gap can vary from $1 to nearly $10 for employees who occupy the same position, depending on whether they work on a base in Quebec or Ontario. A financial services assistant in Bagotville earns $20.44 per hour compared to $30.41 for his colleague in Ottawa.
“It’s huge, shocking and very disrespectful,” denounced Karine Côté, a fitness instructor on the Saint-Jean base who came to demonstrate in Ottawa.
“We are making penny-pinching savings that have real consequences,” said M.me Normandy.
The Parliamentary Secretary of National Defense, Marie-France Lalonde, recalled during question period that the government had reached an agreement with the employees of Petawawa, Kingston and Ottawa who obtained a salary increase of 13.75% over three years. Those of Valcartier, Bagotville and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu rejected this offer by 80%.
“We hope that the three parties who are on strike at the moment come to a resolution and we encourage them to return to the table,” encouraged the Liberal MP.
Unionist Yvon Barrière accused the government of using scabs to prolong this labor dispute, which is in contradiction with the government’s Bill C-58 to prohibit the use of replacement workers in regulated industries. by the federal government.
The PSAC wants to table a counter-offer of 14.5%, which would reduce the wage gap with Ontario, but not in all job categories.