Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a warning to thousands of federal public servants who went on strike Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement on the renewal of their collective agreement before the end of their ultimatum.
“I know that Canadians are not going to be very patient if this continues for too long,” said Mr. Trudeau on his arrival at his caucus meeting when questioned by reporters on whether he is considering introducing a special law to force the return to work of civil servants.
Mr. Trudeau has previously indicated that he is waiting to see “what it will give when they return to the negotiating table” and that he does not intend to “get ahead of the discussions”.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which has 155,000 members affected by this negotiation, announced the day before the start of the nationwide strike at midnight.
The union is sorry that its issues “have still not been addressed by the employer” after nearly two years of negotiations. The issue of telework — a priority for Alliance members — seems to pose a serious problem for Treasury Board.
Passing special legislation has become trickier since the Supreme Court of Canada’s Saskatchewan decision in January 2015.
This important labor law ruling gave constitutional protection to the right to strike. The highest court in the country had then ruled that the right to strike was a way of rebalancing the forces between the management and union parties.
On Wednesday morning, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said she was “convinced” that an agreement is possible. “We know that there is currently a strike and we will continue to work at the table to find an agreement,” she said.
Singh on the picket line
Outside, strikers marched past the renovated Center Block of Parliament. They walked in a circular route bounded by fences, very close to the centennial flame. Parliamentary security services were preventing workers from forming a picket line in front of the West Block, which currently houses the House of Commons.
New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh went to walk with officials briefly and shake their hands before heading to his caucus meeting.
The large pan-Canadian union represents 120,000 federal public servants working in the various departments and 35,000 union members at the Canada Revenue Agency who are directly affected by this walkout.
Both the government and the union plan to hold a press briefing at noon.
The government says it is trying to reach agreements that are “fair and competitive for public servants and reasonable for taxpayers”.
The employer is currently proposing a 9% wage increase over three years and criticizes the union for “insisting on demands that are unaffordable and that would have a serious impact on the government’s ability to provide services to the people of Canada”.
With information from Émilie Bergeron