'We're committed to remaining at the table until a fair deal is reached for all our members'
More than 155,000 employees of two major public sector organizations may be on strike as early as Wednesday.
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) workers at Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency are set to walk off the job on April 19 if no deal is accomplished toward a new contract.
“We’ve made some progress at each of our four bargaining tables over the past two weeks but we’re still too far apart on several key issues, including wages that keep up with the cost of living, job security, and remote work language,” says Chris Aylward, PSAC national president.
Negotiations first began in June 2021 but no agreement has been made as of yet. A hard deadline of 9 p.m. ET on April 18 has been tabbed as a cut-off date by PSAC.
“We’re committed to remaining at the table until a fair deal is reached for all our members, both for our 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) members who resume negotiations today, and our 120,000 Treasury Board members still at the table,” says Aylward.
Last week, the union received a solid mandate to strike after workers voted overwhelmingly to do so.
About 35,000 workers represented by the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) and PSAC will be in a legal strike position April 14, PSAC also recently announced.
‘Clear message’
“Today, PSAC members are sending a clear message that they won’t be taken for granted, they won’t fall further behind, and they’re ready to fight for better,” says Aylward, in announcing results of a vote.
PSAC is Canada’s largest federal public service union, representing almost 230,000 workers in Canada, including more than 120,000 federal public service workers employed by Treasury Board, and more than 35,000 employed by the CRA.
“These workers, like all workers, deserve fair wages and decent working conditions. Despite some progress at the bargaining table, our members are frustrated that while negotiations drag on, they continue to fall behind,” says Aylward.
“We’ve already been at the table for nearly two years, and these workers can't wait any longer. That’s why we’re setting a clock on this round of bargaining.”
If the walkout takes place, Canadians can expect to see slowdowns or a shutdown of services nationwide, including a halt on tax-season preparations, disruptions to EI, immigration and passport applications, interruptions to supply chains and international trade at ports, harbours, and airports and slowdowns at the border with administrative staff on strike, according to the union.
