We have been working on this for almost seven years. We were in the final stage that involved negotiating pay scales. The government is claiming that bargaining doesn't work, when in fact it works very well. One good example is the case of the Library of Parliament analysts. The union has just signed an agreement in principle the terms of which were negotiated, not imposed on this group. The contract was negotiated by mutual agreement, albeit with a different employer, the Library of Parliament. The union did not negotiate in this instance with Treasury Board. The employer was different, but everything worked out very well. Obviously, because of the economic climate, our employees may be forced to give in. I'm talking about what could happen, because the agreement has yet to be ratified. Our members still must vote, but the union has recommended that they accept the proposed offer, which calls for very small salary increases.
On February 23rd, 2009. See this statement in context.