Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) voted in favour of a strike for employees in administrative, technical, educational and operational services Wednesday morning.
“An overwhelming majority of our members have told us they can’t wait any longer and they are prepared to strike to secure a fair deal that won’t see them fall behind,” said PSCA president Chris Aylward. “Our members don’t take the decision to strike lightly. Their bills can’t wait, their families can’t wait and their futures can’t wait.”
“Our members have been without a contract since 2021,” Aylward told reporters. “Together with our members from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), they represent 155,000 federal public sector workers.”
PSAC represents thousands of clerks, maintenance workers, tradespeople, coast guard workers, teachers, firefighters, cooks, Employment Insurance and Immigration workers.
The union hopes to reach a deal with the federal government in the coming days before 35,000 CRA employees will be in a legal position to strike on Friday.
A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in a statement Wednesday afternoon their goal is to reach a deal at the bargaining table as soon as possible, and they believe “significant headway” has been made in the last week.
Legally, the union said it now starts a 60-day window to call a strike, which runs until June 10.
“These are not high-paid senior executives,” said Aylward. “The majority of our members are women making between $40,000 and $60,000.”
“Our members’ wages have been stuck in neutral as the cost of living has continued to soar.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Winnipeg that the government applauds the work that public servants did during the pandemic processing financial aid to Canadians.
“We’re going to continue to engage in a constructive way at the bargaining table,” said Trudeau about negotiations.
“When the federal government, Canada’s largest employer by far, suppresses wages for its workers, what they’re really doing is pushing down wages for all workers,” said Aylward.
Negotiations between PSAC and Treasury Board reached an impasse in May of last year. In December both parties met again, but all recommendations were non-binding.
The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) requested a 14-month backdated pay raise of 4.5%, a 2-month backdated pay raise of 8%, a future pay raise of 8% and a one-time pay increase of 9%
