After spending over five months on the picket line, Canadian Forces Non-Public Funds (NPF) personnel are planning to disrupt the Bagotville International Air Show this coming June 22 and 23.
The union tabled a reasonable amended offer on May 10, yet the employer has yet to provide any response, seemingly intent on letting this dispute drag on to penalize its staff and, by extension, military personnel.
Supported by the broader FTQ family, striking NPF workers at CFBs Bagotville, Saint‑Jean and Valcartier are fed up with the employer’s contempt and have issued an ultimatum.
“We don’t want to take the public hostage, but if we need to go to such lengths to make ourselves heard by the Canadian Armed Forces, we will,” proclaimed Yvon Barrière, PSAC-Quebec Executive Vice-President. “The employer is mocking us, but not for much longer. This conflict has gone long past its due date. It needs to come to an end.”
In essence, the strike is the culmination of a long-fought struggle to abolish salary inequalities created in 1982, when an order was created which allowed the government to treat NPF members like second-class public service workers. Making matters worse, in Quebec, NPF positions are mainly held by women, and have consistently already been paid less than equivalent positions in every other province.
Recently, the Bloc Québécois called on the federal government to address the glaring discriminatory wage gaps disfavouring Quebec workers.
Striking members just want what their counterparts throughout Canada have been granted. Their ultimate hope is for all NPF personnel to be recognized as full-fledged members of the federal public service.