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Tuesday June 16 2015 15 POLITICS MUNICIPAL Aboriginal DayAboriginal DayAboriginal DayAboriginal DayAboriginal Day Wendy Bisaro MLA Frame Lake NWT Legislative Assembly 867 669-2274 wendy_bisarogov.nt.ca www.wendybisaro.ca R C M P respond to altercation inv olv ing H ay R iv er strike B y M E AG AN W O H L B E R G RCMP were called to respond to an alterca- tion last week between strikers and contract workers in what has become an increasingly divisive labour dispute in Hay River. According to reports there was an alleged shouting match between a member of the gar- bagecrewandapicketerthatresultedinpolice being called last week. Thisfollowsnumerousonlinereportsofpublic disagreements among residents and the strik- ingworkers.Someresidentscomplaintheywere harassed while cutting the grass or watering the flowers around town facilities as a volun- teer act during the work stoppage. There has been an increase of tension be- tween the union and contracted workers and as well as some townspeople and the picket- ers confirmed RCMP media liaison Cst. El- enore Sturko. HayRiverRCMP havebeenincontactwith townandunionleadersthroughoutthelabour dispute. P olice are investigating each incident as it happens. Sturko said no charges have been laid. Though she could not provide details of the incidents that RCMP attended she could con- firm they had been called to assist. Both sides are being asked to maintain re- spectfortherightsoftheothersandtocallthe RCMP instead of dealing directly with angry opposition Sturko said. Leadership on both sides is encouraging everyone to maintain a calm and professional demeanor. The Journal contacted both the union and Hay River Mayor Andrew Cassidy for more in- formationontheallegedincidents.Theunionde- clinedtocommentandCassidydidnotrespond. Hay Rivers municipal employees have been on strike since Feb. 9 over an inability to come to an agreement over wage increases in the collective agreement that ex pired in Decem- ber 20 1 3 . While the union has been seeking a 2.25 to 2.5 per cent annual wage increase over the life of the three-year agreement the towns offer has been 1 per cent. Numerous attempts at negotiation have failed. Most recently bargaining teams met with a conciliation officer on May 25 where the town put forward an offer of a 1 .7 per cent annual raise effective Jan. 1 20 1 4. That offer was taken to the unions bargaining team for a vote during which time both parties agreed to a media blackout. The union then returned with a request for additional conditions around job security to be met before making a vote on the offer. That request was for a back to work agreement which the union said is a common practice in all contract negotiations and which took place in the recent negotiations between strik- ing Housing Authority workers and manage- ment in Fort Smith. The town has said publicly that they will be eliminatingpositionsofsomemembersnowon strike. Were not going to vote on new contract conditions unless we know all of our striking members are going back to work P ublic Ser- viceAllianceCanadasnorthernvice-president Jack Bourassa ex plained on June 1 . According to the town such an agreement was not discussed leading up to the towns offer. The towns bargaining team advised the union to honour its commitment to put the offer to a vote but the union refused. Since then no vote has taken place and the town has retracted its offer and advised the union that the offer will only be made again on the terms it was made originally. B oth sides are b eing asked to maintain respect for the rights of the others and to call the R CMP instead of dealing directly with angry opposition. Cst. E l enore Sturk o R CM P G D i v i si on A sign erected b y striking municipal workers in H ay R iv er was v andaliz ed in late M ay. R CM P say there has b een an increase in tension b etween the union and contracted workers as well as townspeople and picketers since the strike b egan in F eb ruary. PhotocourtesyofUnionofNorthernWorkers