About 155,000 federal workers have been on strike since Wednesday. Two of their main demands, salary increases totaling 13.5% over three years and the entrenchment of telework in collective agreements, are worth real tests for the Trudeau government.
In terms of telework, employers are watching this negotiation carefully, at the end of which Ottawa could set a precedent. With the end of the pandemic, many employees simply do not want to return to work on site, others would like to have the choice of the number of days in the office, at their convenience. The unions are speaking out for these demands, which we will not stop hearing about in the coming months. The strike by federal civil servants, by its scope and media coverage, will serve as an example in all workplaces.
In Quebec, the Minister of Labour, Jean Boulet, has rendered a valuable service to private and government employers by recalling that teleworking comes under the right of management. So far, they have shown agility and flexibility in integrating teleworking into their practices, depending on the needs, the tasks to be performed and the provision of services. There is no need to give in to pressure from unions and opposition parties, which, like Québec solidaire, are proposing the creation of a “right to telework”.
The Act respecting labor standards applies whether the employee is teleworking or at the office. Jurisprudence is gradually emerging in the area of telework, and for the time being, it enshrines the principles according to which this mode of work falls under the right of management of the employer, who has every interest in consulting and involving the staff in the development of an internal policy. It should be no different in the federal public service.
Ottawa must not give in to pressure from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and keep in mind that its actions will have a ripple effect on union mobilization across the country. There are several reasons to keep telework within the scope of the employer’s management right. For the well-being of staff, collaboration, communication, a sense of belonging and innovation, it is essential to preserve this space of communion called the office and to keep in mind that this vast experience that is Telecommuting is relatively new and constantly evolving. Flexibility is required, which the codification in a collective agreement does not allow.
In terms of wage demands, the negotiations with the 155,000 public servants reporting to the Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are a real test of fiscal prudence for the Trudeau government. The Treasury Board has improved its offer to public servants by proposing increases of 9% over three years, from 2020 to 2023. The PSAC is asking for 13.5% for the same period. This is an average, with some groups of union members being more demanding than others. Those of the CRA in particular are asking for nearly 33% over three years, much more than the increase in the cost of living.
Inflation was exceptionally high in 2022 (6.8%) and, to a lesser extent, in 2021 (3.4%). In 2020, it was less than 1%. The high expectations of public servants come up against implacable financial limits. In these matters, the Trudeau government is projecting a cumulative deficit of $131.7 billion for the next five fiscal years (including the current one). This spendthrift government predicted a surplus of 4.5 billion in 2028, it is now satisfied with a deficit of 14 billion.
Added to these considerations is the considerable increase in the public service workforce, which rose by 12% compared to 2020 to stand at 336,000 people. Just recently, the Parliamentary Budget Officer pointed out that the last federal budget made no effort to save or reallocate resources based on post-pandemic labor needs.
Federal civil servants do not all evolve in the privileges and largesse of the state, even if they enjoy advantageous social benefits and pension plans compared to the Canadian average. As an indication, the majority of strikers earn between $50,000 and $75,000 annually. Nonetheless, it is an expensive public service, notorious for its difficulties in ensuring adequate service delivery, and growing in a debt-addicted government. These are thankless parameters, for which the Trudeau government is responsible. It must now ensure that it does not further mortgage public finances and the future of future generations.