Asian Tribune Your Multilingual Newspaper covering World and local news News
More than 155,000 federal public servants will strike on Wednesday if no deal is reached between the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
National president Chris Aylward told reporters on Monday that despite progress being made on several fronts, there has been little movement on the union’s key priorities. If no deal is reached by 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, workers will be on strike as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Wednesday.
“Despite some progress at the bargaining table, our members are frustrated that while negotiations drag on, they continue to fall behind,” he said.
“We’ve already been at the table for nearly two years and these workers can’t wait any longer.”
The government did not immediately respond to Global News’ request for comment Monday morning.
What is at stake in negotiations?
Last Friday, more than 155,000 federal public servants were in legal position to strike as negotiations for new collective agreements between the unions, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and its tax agency unit and the employers, the federal government and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), continue to drag on.
The unions have been fighting for increased wages, benefits and remote work. Both sides are at the bargaining table and want to reach a deal, but Aylward has threatened “one of the largest strikes in Canadian history” if one is not reached.
In response to PSAC last week, Ottawa said in a statement its goal is to reach an agreement with the union. It said at the time negotiations were ongoing, and it had made “significant headway, addressing many union demands.”
Canadians could face serious delays in accessing federal services if strikes were to happen, most notably in the tax department with 35,000 CRA workers off the job.
Aylward said Monday the PSAC’s Union of Taxation Employees, which represents the CRA workers, was back at the negotiating table.
“If this is going to come together, it will have to come together rather quickly,” he said.
“Our intention is still to get a deal at the table and avoid a strike. That’s still our goal.”
What will a strike mean for you?
The 120,000 PSAC members also in legal strike position work in the Treasury Board Secretariat, a central government agency that operates effectively as a nerve centre for a significant amount of work related to the basic functioning of the federal government.
Members include cleaners and cooks on military bases, clerks and maintenance workers, tradespeople, Coast Guard search and rescue teams, teachers, firefighters and workers who process employment insurance, passport applications and immigration documents.
“If this government forces us to go on strike, we will have picket lines set up across the country in very strategic locations,” Aylward said.
“We will want to have an impact on the government. We will try to have as least impact on Canadians as possible.”
More to come.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.