Negotiations between the federal government and state employees have just taken another turn, as members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have come out in favor of a strike mandate to be called when timely.
A strike could therefore be called in the coming weeks.
For the purposes of this vote, the PSAC represents some 120,000 federal public servants. It is the largest union of civil servants in the country. They work within the various departments: Transport, Immigration, Veterans Affairs, Service Canada, for example.
This vote in favor of the strike of the unions negotiating with the federal Treasury Board is added to that of the members of the Union of Taxation Employees, also affiliated with the Alliance, which represents 35,000 members who work at the Canada Revenue Agency. They had already come out “massively” in favor of a strike mandate, the PSAC announced last Friday.
“If PSAC members working in the federal government walk out, it will be the largest single-employer strike in the history of the country,” PSAC National President Chris Aylward said Wednesday.
The PSAC did not want to reveal right now its strategy to know if a possible strike would take the form of isolated strike days or by blocks of days, of a rotating strike by regions or of an unlimited strike.
“PSAC members today are sending a clear message: they want their employer to stop taking their jobs for granted, they don’t want to get any poorer, and they are ready to fight for that to change” , added Mr. Aylward.
If a strike were to be called, essential services would have to be maintained, such as border services, correctional services, employment insurance. Discussions to this effect have already taken place between the parties to designate the positions deemed essential.
“Our members will not take the decision to strike lightly. They know that a strike will be difficult, both for them and for the people who depend on the services they provide. They choose to exercise their bargaining power, because they’ve waited long enough. Invoices don’t wait. Their families can’t wait any longer. No one can wait any longer,” Mr. Aylward said.
Negotiations between the Treasury Board and the Alliance did not, however, break down. The Union of Taxation Employees, for example, has further bargaining sessions scheduled for April 17-20.
The dispute concerns salary increases, telecommuting and the outsourcing of public service jobs to the private sector.
In terms of salary, the Alliance is calling for increases of 4.5% per year for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The federal government offers a four-year contract, at 1.5% in 2021, 3% in 2022, 2% in 2023 and 1.75% in 2024, an average of 2.06% per year.
Between the two, a report by the Public Interest Commission — a step in the federal negotiation process that aims to bring the parties together — proposed increases of 1.5% in 2021, 4.5% in 2022 and by 3% in 2023.
The federal government has already indicated that it wants in good faith to reach an agreement with the PSAC, respecting the ability of Canadian taxpayers to pay and other agreements reached elsewhere.
Nevertheless, he prepared himself, if need be. “In the event of a labor disruption, certain services offered to Canadians could be delayed or made unavailable. The government is committed to being transparent with Canadians about service impacts, if any. Information will be posted on Canada.ca to help the public be aware of potential service impacts,” he said.