Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the major issues of contention during consideration of amendments to the Public Service Act in February was the change to the exclusion provision of the bill. The Union of Northern Workers expressed their concerns that this provision of the act would be used indiscriminately and would result in over 35 per cent of current unionized employees being excluded.
Mr. Speaker, I gave my assurance that the changes to this provision of the act would only increase exclusions by approximately six per cent of the total number of GNWT employees. To reaffirm this, I made a commitment to this House to table a list of the employees excluded from the bargaining unit under the amended Public Service Act.
Mr. Speaker, later today I will table a revised list of excluded employees. This list clearly shows that I have met my commitment. The number of exclusions have increased from 717 to 1,050, a total increase of 333 employees. In fact, this represents a five per cent increase in new exclusions, from 11 to 16 per cent of the total number of GNWT employees.
This listing clearly defines who is a member of the bargaining units representing our employees and will, in future, limit any conflict or misunderstanding about who has the right to strike.
Mr. Speaker, recognizing that the exclusion provision of the Public Service Act remains a concern for the membership of the Union of Northern Workers, I have asked my officials to work with the executive of the union to find an arrangement for monitoring exclusions that will ensure that this provision of the act continues to be applied in a fair and consistent manner. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
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