Canada’s largest public sector union has confirmed its more than 155,000 members will go on strike Wednesday if a new contract deal isn’t reached.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National President Chris Aylward confirmed the strike deadline at a news conference Monday morning. He stated that while the union and the federal government have made “some progress” over the past two weeks, the two sides are still far apart on several key issues including wages, job security, and remote work. He said if an agreement cannot be reached by 9 p.m. Tuesday, the workers will launch strike action.
“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 members who resume negotiations today, and our 120,000 Treasury Board members still at the table,” said Aylward.
PSAC members have been without a contract since June 2021. Last week, the PSAC announced that more than 120,000 public servants in the Treasury Board voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of a strike, as did 35,000 unionized workers at the Canada Revenue Agency.
“These workers – like all workers – deserve fair wages and decent working conditions,” said 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.”
According to the union, if the strike happens it would be one of the largest in Canada’s history. It would cause slowdowns and total shutdowns of services across the country, including in the tax department delaying the processing of income tax and benefit returns. Other areas that would be affected include passport services from Employment and Social Development Canada, client assistance with employment insurance, social insurance and Canada pension plan and old age security through Service Canada, and application processing by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Border slowdowns would also be likely with administrative staff on strike.
The federal government has previously stated that it is seeking “agreements that are fair to public servants and reasonable for taxpayers.”
