XPost: can.adiac.gen, can.arts.sf   
   From: istjohn@noemail.usa   
      
   Wed. Sep. 8 2004 6:00 PM ET   
   Revenue Canada workers begin rotating strikes   
   CTV.ca News Staff   
      
   Thousands of Revenue Canada employees have begun rotating strikes after   
   talks with the government broke down.   
      
   About 8,000 employees of the federal tax agency walked off the job Wednesday   
   in Ontario and British Columbia. A picket line went up this morning at the   
   regional taxation centre in Sudbury, Ont., where 1,400 workers are off the   
   job. But office in Ottawa were untouched.   
      
   About 25,000 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency are in a legal strike   
   position. The dispute involves members of PSAC, the Public Service Alliance   
   of Canada. They do everything from processing tax returns and GST refunds to   
   answering phones. The major stumbling block is wages.   
      
   The union says the job action will slow the flow of tax money into federal   
   coffers, but not the flow out.   
      
   Child tax credits and GST rebate cheques will head out in the mail because   
   those services have been declared essential.   
      
   This isn't the only dispute going on between the federal government and its   
   unionized staff. Parks Canada employees, who are also members of PSAC, have   
   been on rotating strikes since Aug. 13.   
      
   And many Customs Canada workers at border points across the country are also   
   working to rule. They've been waving many people across the border, often   
   without making them pay taxes on goods bought in the U.S.   
      
   The government is reportedly offering union members less than that   
   recommended by a mediator. Workers were asking for an increase of about   
   eight per cent over three years; the government offered around six per cent,   
   both sides said.   
      
   In a statement released Tuesday night, Revenue Canada called its offer   
   reasonable.   
      
   "The CRA's wages and benefits are already competitive with Treasury Board   
   and other federal public service employers," the statement said.   
      
   "In addition, some recent studies have shown that compensation for most   
   federal public service employees is also competitive with that of their   
   counterparts in the private sector."   
      
   PSAC's national president says no further talks are scheduled.   
      
   Martin comments   
      
   A small but noisy group of protesters forced Prime Minister Paul Martin to   
   shift a press conference at the end of his two-day cabinet meeting in   
   Kelowna, B.C. indoors.   
      
   "All labour negotiations, especially when they lead to strike action, are   
   very difficult," he told reporters on Wednesday.   
      
   "We have enormous respect for the dedication of the public sectors employees   
   and we really hope that we'll be able to arrive at a settlement fairly soon.   
   We certainly do want a settlement that is fair to everyone."   
      
   CTV's Rosemary Thompson told Newsnet besides the challenge of making a deal   
   on health care with the premiers next week, Martin has PSAC "poised for   
   strike action.   
      
   "It's a big contract, it's worth a lot of money. Obviously the government   
   doesn't want a prolonged walkout."   
      
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