Picket lines will be going up at 6 a.m. this morning at the Canadian War Museum and Museum of Civilization, barring a last-minute miracle agreement between the museum corporation and 420 employees unionized under the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
The PSAC employees who work as hosts, guides, animators and archivists have been negotiating since April. Workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike in late August.
“For us the main issues are job security, sub-contracting and salaries, and they refuse to address those issues,” said Patrice Remillard, a member of the negotiating team who works as a loan and acquisition manager at the Museum of Civilization. “For example, out of 55 guides, there are only eight that are permanent employees. The others are on one- or two-year contracts.”
After an intensive negotiation week, Remillard said there has been some progress in terms of job security, but there are still significant differences in terms of sub-contracting and salaries.
The museum has contracted out jobs like ticket sales and cafeteria staff, which is a major issue for the union, he said.
Negotiations sessions with a federal mediator were held last week.
The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation tabled its final “offer of settlement” early Friday morning.
