About 35,000 officials at the Canada Revenue Agency voted on Friday to give themselves a strike mandate that could begin as early as April 14, days before the deadline to file their 2022 tax returns.
“Walking is always the last resort, but a solid strike mandate gives us the balance of power needed to negotiate a fair and equitable agreement,” wrote Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, in a communicated.
Members of his union, part of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), have been without a contract for more than a year. They had until Friday to decide on a strike mandate. The vote that began on January 31 ended “resolutely” in favor of a strike.
However, it is not yet certain that the union will carry out its threat to walk out. Its members represent a significant portion, but not all, of the approximately 55,000 public servants of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The work of some of these officials is also considered an essential service.
The CRA nevertheless warns that certain services could be delayed or made unavailable if the union goes ahead with its threat of a work stoppage, without specifying which ones. “The CRA is committed to being transparent with Canadians regarding service impacts, if any,” reads a statement.
Salaries and telecommuting
Tax employees have processed nearly 30 million applications for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), recalls the union. Negotiations with the employer, the Treasury Board of Canada, stumble over the issues of wages and telecommuting.
“Inflation is rising, but wages are stagnating. Result: our members are unable to keep up with the cost of living,” denounced Mr. Brière in the press release.
A final round of negotiations between the PSAC and the Canada Revenue Agency is to be held with a mediator starting Monday, April 17. Employees thus have the right to strike at the earliest just before, on Friday, April 14.
For its part, the government says it hopes that these negotiations will lead to an agreement for the next collective agreement. In its statement, the Agency states that it “values the important role its employees across the country play in delivering services to Canadians. »