Federal union to make announcement Monday with strike mandate

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the country’s largest federal public service union, is expected to announce the outcome of last-minute talks with the Treasury Board, after threatening the largest strike against a single employer in Canada’s history.

The mediated contract negotiations took place over the weekend in what the union described as the government’s final chance to reach a deal. The PSAC has been without a contract for nearly two years, and the union declared talks had reached an impasse in May 2022.

The biggest point of contention between the two sides appears to be pay increases, with the union pushing for annual raises of 4.5 per cent to keep up with the rising cost of living and historic inflation. The government, on the other hand, has offered an average wage increase of roughly 2 per cent each year over a five-year period.

The PSAC also wants greater limits on contract work, more anti-racism training, and provisions for remote work on the table.

If the union decides to strike, some 155,000 employees are prepared to walk off the job, including 35,000 workers from the Canada Revenue Agency. The strike mandate has raised concerns about how important government services that are already backlogged, like the processing of immigration and employment insurance applications, will function. A strike would likely delay income tax and benefits returns, and the delivery of passports would be limited to Canadians in emergency or humanitarian situations.

Despite the potential disruptions, the Canadian Labour Congress issued a statement in support of workers looking for a wage increase on Saturday. The Congress President, Bea Bruske, said in the statement that “when the federal government lowers wages for its workers, it impacts all workers from every sector, whether they are public sector workers, private sector workers, unionized or non-unionized — these workers are also taking a hit, seeing their wages being pushed further down.”

Though some 35,000 federal public servants in the union are deemed essential workers, the PSAC has indicated it may take a staggered approach so that some workers remain on the job at all times.

The Treasury Board of Canada released a statement last Wednesday saying there is a realistic path ahead that includes “wage increase proposals that align with an agreement already reached with one bargaining agent.” It said those proposals were recently approved for more than 90,000 Canadian Forces members.

In December, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier approved a new collective agreement with the Association of Canadian Financial Officers that included a salary increase of 11 per cent over four years. Last month, Canadian Armed Forces members signed a new four-year deal with a compounded wage increase of 10.4 per cent.