Mr. Speaker, in their election platform, the Liberals pledged to comply with pay equity legislation. They also promised to abolish regional rates of pay for blue collar workers in the public service.
What is happening today? The Liberals are imposing back to work legislation. This is a punitive measure. It is unacceptable to treat loyal public servants in this fashion.
These regional rates are unfair to 11,000 workers in Canada, including 1,500 in the maritime provinces. Treasury Board said that if regional rates of pay were eliminated, it would be hard to keep old employees and hire new ones. In Nova Scotia, a carpenter working in the private sector earns $20.49 per hour, compared to $13.92 in the federal public service.
Is it fair to pay less money to a blue collar in New Brunswick than to a blue collar in British Columbia who does the same work?
The time has come for the government to put an end to the discrimination against workers in the regions, and to negotiate, not legislate, a work contract.