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By Shawn Doyle

OTTAWA — The strike at the Museum of Civilization and War Museum has been dragging on since Sept. 21, and it's not getting any easier. Management at the museums "have hired a private film crew that is trying to catch us doing illegal stuff, but (it) has not succeeded," said Ralph Brassard, a striking tour guide with the Public Service Alliance of Canada [2] (PSAC). "They have hired scabs," he added.

PSAC Regional Executive Vice President Maria Fitzpatrick has confirmed the museums "have been using workers from the U.S. and international firms to replace the museum professionals that are on strike." Fitzpatrick says management is also using security firms to "harass" workers on strike, calling it "shameful that Canadians' tax dollars are best spent in this manner, rather than resolving the strike and allowing the museum workers to return to their jobs."

The workers are demanding:

* Job security. They want to achieve the same job security as other federal workers in the National Capital Region. They want a fair staffing procedure developed to allow temporary workers to become permanent after a certain period of time. Brassard says contract workers can work up to eight years without being considered permanent. Out of 55 guides at the museums, only six are permanent employees. Most guides, program animators and hosts have worked from contract to contract for long periods. Some temporary workers have had their contracts ended days before they were due to become permanent employees. The workers also want to negotiate protections against contracting out museum work.

* Recognition of Seniority, applying years of service to scheduling and hiring procedures.

* Fair pay. Museum of Civilization and War Museum workers are paid lower salaries than any other museum employees in the National Capital Region. A War Museum host makes $13 per hour, but a host at the Museum of Nature makes $24 per hour. A War Museum archivist's hourly rate of $25 compares to $38 at the Museum of Nature. CEO Victor Rabinovitch is the highest paid federal museum head, with a salary of $236,000 plus a maximum performance award of $61,400.

Negotiations between the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation and the PSAC began in April. The negotiations broke down in August after management refused to grant any job security provisions to the workers. The workers voted 92 per cent in favour of strike action Aug. 27. PSAC and the Museum held sessions with a mediator Sept. 16 and 17, during which management refused to address the workers' fundamental concerns. Museum workers took strike action Sept. 21.