April 29, 1999
(Executive Council)

The following statement was issued today by Anna Thistle, President of Treasury Board. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

The current round of collective bargaining is nearing completion. Since active negotiations began last year, we have achieved 27 signed collective agreements, with an additional five tentative agreements. Within the last two weeks, the Collective Bargaining Division of Treasury Board successfully concluded tentative agreements with the Provincial Association of Interns and Residents (PAIRN), CUPEs Group Homes and Transition House Workers and the Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP.) In total, we have 32 agreements with almost 32,000 public sector workers.

In addition to the tentative and signed agreements, there are six more bargaining agents in various stages of negotiations with Treasury Board and two contracts where negotiations have not yet commenced. These negotiations are progressing and we expect to conclude other agreements in the coming weeks.

When government entered this round of collective bargaining, we were up front with all unions and the general public. After a period of wage roll-backs, freezes and severe expenditure restraint, we said, from the start, that we were in a position to afford only modest wage increases. We would have preferred to be in a position to give higher increases to all public employees, but quite simply, we were not and are still not in a position to do this.

Government has had to take difficult decisions to achieve a sound fiscal position, maintain stability in core public services and targeted re-investments in priority areas, notably health and education. We must not forget that Newfoundland and Labrador still has some of the highest rates of taxation in the country. We can only spend what we can afford. That is what we are doing.

As well, on an ongoing basis, government wants to work with unions and professional groups to better serve the public. Within the means available to us, we will continue to do so.

1999 04 29                              2:40 p.m.