Chris Aylward, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) president, set a strike deadline of 9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Aylward said the strike “can shut the government down.”. Public Service Alliance of Canada president Chris AylwardCourtesy PSAC .If all 155,000 employees take part in the strike, it would be the largest in the past 19 years. The PSAC is the largest federal workers union..“We are still too far apart on several key issues, including wages,” Aylward said in a statement..“These workers, like all workers, deserve fair wages.”.The 2004 strike of 125,000 PSAC members was resolved in under one week, whereas the 1991 strike ended after 13 days..READ MORE More than 120,000 federal union workers vote to strike over pay.“Why is it important for members to participate in strike action?” the PSAC wrote in a notice to members..“This is a truly historic moment for workers. A strike by PSAC would be one of the largest strikes in Canada’s history and mean real gains for our members at the table.”.“Together, we wield incredible power and can shut the government down to secure a fair contract and set a standard that supports unionized and non-unionized workers across the country,” wrote the PSAC..Treasury Board (TB) President Mona Fortier told the Commons a strike was unnecessary..“There is enough ground to reach a deal,” said Fortier..“Canadians expect both parties to bargain in good faith and find compromise.”.READ MORE Federal union demands 47% wage increase, ‘social justice fund’.The TB said it offered employees a 9% raise over three years, “a fair and competitive offer.” .The PSAC said the offer averaged 2% a year retroactive from 2021 to 2025, “an insulting offer.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the PSAC also opposed any mandatory order that all employees working from home return to the job site on a rotating schedule. The TB said the PSAC proposal was untenable..“These demands as currently drafted would severely impact the government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians and would limit its ability to effectively manage employees within the public service,” the TB said in a statement..The TB also provided documents to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation indicating the PSAC sought shift premiums for employees who worked past 4 p.m., “an education fund for laid-off members of up to $17,000” and four weeks’ paid holiday after four years’ service rather than the current seven-year minimum..“We are going to continue to work with public sector unions and respect the work they’ve done as public servants getting us through the pandemic,” said Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault (Edmonton Centre, AB), associate Finance minister..“We have some real challenges with inflation.”.Cabinet said in the event of any job action, all Old Age Security cheques, veterans benefits, Employment Insurance and other federal payments would be processed under a long-standing policy..Previous PSAC actions disrupted the processing of tax returns, immigration applications and work at airports and maritime ports..READ MORE CRA workers ready to strike, disrupt tax filings
