Canadian Government risks tech shutdown

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Government risks tech shutdown

Federal information technology union maps out 'government off-line' campaign

Kathryn May The Ottawa Citizen

The federal government is at risk of serious disruptions and even shutdowns of critical computer systems that could slow its operations to a crawl.

The threat comes from the nearly 9,000 information technology workers who run those systems. They voted 87 per cent on Friday in favour of a strike for higher salaries.

They already have mapped their "government off-line" campaign to disrupt operations if the deadlock can't be resolved and strike averted.

Talks with the government, which began a year ago, hit an impasse and are headed for conciliation next month. Unless a deal is reached, IT workers could be in a legal strike position by early to mid-May.

"We are the glue that holds the operations together," said Greg Hamilton, chair of the bargaining team for the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC).

"There is nothing the government does today that doesn't somehow depend on computers and automated systems."

In today's push-button bureaucracy, any work disruption or stoppage by IT workers could hit the government on two fronts: day-to-day operations and the Chretien government's pledge to become the world's "most-wired government" by 2004.

However, the government's systems can't be completely shut down in the event of a strike because about 18 per cent of IT workers have been designated essential and can't legally strike. The union is seeking what amounts to a 17-per-cent-increase over two years. Government IT workers start at about $27,000 a year and peak at $89,675.

The union has also been openly encouraging IT workers to find jobs in the private sector's tech industry. So far, the government has offered raises worth two per cent a year and agreed to fold into salaries 20 per cent of the bonuses paid for the Year 2000 crunch.

The government gave them bonuses or "terminable allowances" worth 4.6 per cent of salaries for Y2K.

The newly created Canada Customs and Revenue Agency is also locked in a labour dispute with its 2,800 IT workers, who rejected a six-per-cent raise as insufficient to narrow the widening wage gap with private industry.

Few federal workers have the bargaining clout of IT workers. Their skills are in big demand in government and business alike, and there is a worldwide shortage of them. Their numbers have doubled in the past decade as departments became dependent on technology.

They are the backbone of federal operations. From programmers and systems analysts to network managers, they design, run and maintain all computer systems and Web sites. They are also concentrated at headquarters in the national capital region.

One of the most vulnerable targets should the dispute escalate into a strike is the government's 2004 deadline to get all programs and services online for access anytime and anywhere.

The "government online" project, a Liberal priority highlighted in the throne speech, is the backbone of the government's economic strategy to help Canada make the leap into the New Economy. It's the largest and most critical technology project ever undertaken by government, and could, potentially, re-engineer government and how it works.

Gaylen Duncan, president of the Information Technology Association of Canada, said IT wages in government lag behind private industry, which is offering raises of between seven to 10 per cent this year.

"The government is already operating in an environment where they are at risk," said Mr. Duncan. "It's been raided and we've taken their brightest and best. We can't tell government what to do, but salaries have to be close to the private sector -- because if the divergence is too great, they will never get the best."

Mr. Duncan said any slowdown would steer the government online project even further off course.

The government has been scrambling to recover the ground lost when a critical piece of the project was derailed by a 10-month contract dispute. Many argue the government will never make the deadline at the current pace of work.

Some technology officials warn disruptions to the "government online" project could backfire on workers. The industry is itching for a bigger piece of the project. It argues the development work should go to private industry, which has the cutting-edge expertise, rather than rely on the government's in-house talent.

"They deserve a fair wage ... and they have substantial power, but they walk a fine line in a volatile industry if they slow down the work of a government priority," said Mr. Duncan.

Mr. Hamilton said the union is planning a series of rotating strikes and work-to-rule campaign that are aimed at creating "inconveniences" to slow government operations and have little impact on Canadians.

He said following rules and job descriptions "to the letter" alone could cause major delays in all aspects of government. For now, the union is asking workers to "stop the freebies," such as working through breaks and lunch hours, carrying pagers and cellphones during off hours or working overtime.

"Once we're in a legal strike position, anything is fair ball other than sabotage, which we would never do. But other than that, nothing is out of the question," said Mr. Hamilton.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/010318/5024466.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 18, 2001


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