The President of the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier, admits to being “frustrated” by what she describes as a stall in the negotiations with federal civil servants who have been on strike for eight days now.
“I am still in the same place where we receive offers that are unaffordable and unreasonable. As long as things don’t move, it will be difficult to find a place where we will have an agreement that will be reasonable for Canadians and which will also be fair for employees, ”she said Wednesday. on her way to the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.
She did not directly respond to questions from reporters about whether the possibility of back-to-work legislation being invoked was getting any closer. She also wouldn’t comment on whether the 9% salary increase over three years proposed by the Treasury Board is a final offer.
“We will continue to work very hard. We are still at the table, but I can tell you that I am frustrated this morning, because it is not moving forward, ”she dropped.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents some 155,000 civil servants on strike, is asking for a 13.5% salary increase over three years, since it believes that this is more appropriate to the level of the labor force. ‘inflation. Teleworking is also one of the main points of contention.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seemed much more temperate on Wednesday than Ms. Fortier. “We are continuing to make constructive offers. We have hope that we will continue to see progress, but it will take the time it takes, ”he argued.
Asked about the patience of Canadians, which could be eroded in the face of the impacts of the strike on services such as passport renewal, Mr. Trudeau replied that “we are still fair [à] a few days since the beginning of this trade union action”.
“Of course, as Canadians find it more difficult to access services, to worry about their taxes, the frustrations will increase, but for now, the principles […] of [droit de] strike, to negotiate collective agreements in good faith [sont respectés]. We are doing the necessary work. »
Last week, on day one of the strike, Mr. Trudeau said that the population would not be “tremendously patient[e] if the walkout lasted “too long”.