OTTAWA - After more than six weeks on the picket line, 420 striking workers from the Canadian Museum of Civilization and War Museum will be taking their message to Parliament Hill today at noon.

They are asking the Canadian government to tell the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation to return to the bargaining table and grant them a fair contract. Their key demands are job security, protections against the subcontracting of their jobs and an end to perpetual contract status. The workers are seeking the same terms and conditions as other employees doing the same work at other federally-funded museums and cultural institutions.

Employees at the two museums have been on strike since September 21, 2009. The 420 workers voted 92 per cent in favour of a strike at the end of August and talks first hit a standstill on September 18. Negotiations resumed briefly on October 7, but broke off after the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation refused to agree to protections against the contracting out of the workers' jobs.

The workers have been picketing daily in front of the office of James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. Now they will take their message to all Members of Parliament, hoping for a fair end to their labour dispute as soon as possible.