For immediate release October 15, 2004 OTTAWA - Reg Alcock, President of the Treasury Board, today released the following statement, after negotiations with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) concluded: "Today, Treasury Board negotiators presented PSAC bargaining tables for which Treasury Board is the employer with revised offers, and PSAC has agreed to present the offers to its members for a ratification vote. I am pleased that we have reached tentative agreements with PSAC for employees of Tables 2 and 5, and that PSAC has decided to put the Government's latest offers for Tables 1 and 3 to a ratification vote with its members. We've said all along that we want to be fair to employees while meeting our fiscal responsibility to all Canadians, and I believe that, with these offers, we have succeeded. The economic part of the offers is the same as the one presented to PSAC last week, which represents a total cumulative increase of 10% over four years. The breakdown is as follows: 2.5% for the first year, 2.25% for the second year, 2.4% for the third year, and 2.5% for the fourth year of a four-year contract, which begins in 2003. In the case of Table 2, the tentative agreement also includes a special provision to begin to close the wage gap between these employees and employees doing comparable work in the private sector. The offers reflect our commitment to provide salaries and benefits to our employees that are comparable to private-sector salaries for similar work, and that also take into account recent external wage settlements and forecasts for inflation. I would like to thank our negotiators, who have been working tirelessly to reach an agreement and who gave up their Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. I would also like to thank all Canadians for their patience throughout the collective bargaining process. I look forward to the results of the ratification vote, and hope we will soon be able to resume normal operations." - 30 - For more information, contact: Lise Jolicoeur Press Secretary Office of the President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board (613) 957-2666 Suzanne Meunier Media Relations Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (613) 957-2391 IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL. TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired) - (613) 957-9090
