Thousands of federal public servants across country begin strike

April 18, 2023 Canuck News/Canada/Ottawa

More than 155,000 federal public servants will go on strike Wednesday after the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) failed to reach a deal before the Tuesday evening deadline.

The announcement comes after two bargaining groups representing a significant part of the government workforce entered a legal strike position last week.

Strike action will begin 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, national PSAC president Chris Aylward said at a Tuesday evening news conference.

“We are still a ways apart, but we’re staying at the table because we’re still hopeful and our goal is still to get to a tentative agreement,” he said.

“Our members are prepared to fight for a good, decent, fair collective agreement.”

Union members will be at picket lines by Wednesday morning, he said. Picket lines will be set up at more than 250 locations across the country, PSAC said in a Tuesday news release.

Aylward said he would not disclose details of what is being discussed at the bargaining table, but said the union will remain on strike until its key issues are addressed.

In a news release Tuesday night, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said it has “done everything it can” to reach a deal.

“The government has presented a fair, competitive offer to the PSAC and responded to all their demands,” it said. “Even though there is a competitive deal on the table, the PSAC continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable and would severely impact the government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians.”

The federal government also released a series of backgrounders after the strike announcement Tuesday, including one outlining its bargaining position.

Tax returns, passports

More than 120,000 employees under PSAC entered a legal strike position last Wednesday and about 35,000 more joined them last Friday, bringing the total number of federal public servants represented by PSAC with a strike mandate to more than 155,000.

The first group, labelled the Treasury Board group by PSAC, includes workers spread across more than 20 departments and agencies.

WATCH | Strike means work of government grinds to a crawl:

Federal public servants across the country to go on strike

2 hours ago

Duration 2:06

Federal public servants across the country will go on strike after failing to reach a deal. The union says with nearly a third of all federal public service workers on strike, Canadians can expect slowdowns or a complete shutdown of services nationwide.

The second group, represented by PSAC and its subcomponent, the Union of Taxation Employees, includes about 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers.

Of those workers, about 47,000 are considered essential and, although in a legal strike position, will continue to report to work. The government defines an essential service as a service necessary for the safety or security of the public, or a segment of the public, at any time.

PSAC leadership said Monday all workers in a legal strike position would strike Wednesday if the union didn’t reach an agreement with the federal government by 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.

A strike could affect a range of services, including processing of income tax returns and passports. The federal government compiled a list of 23 departments and agencies that would be affected by a strike.

Workers and services involved

Negotiations between the federal government and PSAC began in June 2021, but the union said the two sides reached an impasse in May 2022.

In January, PSAC announced strike votes for the Treasury Board group due to a disagreement with the department over proposed wage increases that are outstripped by the rate of inflation.

Strike votes for this group happened from Feb. 22 until April 11, while strike votes for the CRA group were held from Jan. 31 until last week. The union didn’t share how many members voted in favour, but Aylward said last Wednesday an “overwhelming majority” voted for a strike mandate.

The federal government has said it is seeking “agreements that are fair to public servants and reasonable for taxpayers,” adding Monday it has a good offer on the table.

Aylward said last Wednesday most members make between $40,000 and $65,000 a year and are struggling with the high cost of living.

The union’s last public wage proposal was 4.5 per cent for 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Treasury Board last shared an offer to increase wages by nine per cent over three years, a total it says mirrors the recommendations of the third-party Public Interest Commission.

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