The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling for the Liberal government to take a hard line against the demands of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which amounts to an extra $9.3 billion from Canadian taxpayers..“Families are trying to figure out whether they can afford milk or ground beef at the grocery store and government union negotiators are asking for an extra $9.3 billion,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF..“The government’s bargaining position needs to be absolute 'no' to these demands.”.The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE), which includes the PSAC, is demanding a nearly 30% wage increase over three years. The UTE left the bargaining table on Sept. 1, declaring an impasse in negotiations, then fully withdrew from mediation on December 20. .UTE is threatening strike votes between January 31 and April 7, which is around the time Canadians expect to receive their income tax refunds..The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) provided the CTF with PSAC’s demands for increased wage and non-wage benefits across each bargaining group. It showed over the next three years, the Education and Library Science group are demanding a 25% increase, the Program and Administration Services want a 29% increase, Technical Services want a 28% increase, and Operational Services want a 47% increase..According to the TBS, the cost of PSAC's pay demand would amount to $3.1 billion every year, which is a conservative estimate. That would amount to taxpayers paying more than $9.3 billion over the next three years..The TBS also noted that PSAC's pay proposals, which include an increase in overtime rates and expanded leave provisions, would represent an ongoing annual cost increase of approximately $27,500 per employee across the 119,000 employees..The PSAC is also demanding increased paid leave for family related responsibilities, an accrual of four weeks of automatic vacation leave after four years of service, increased and extended eligibility for a variety of allowances and premiums, and for all overtime paid at double-time..A report by the Public Interest Commission also confirmed PSAC is demanding a 47% compensation increase over three years for one of its bargaining groups. The report noted that the demands “would result in an increase to compensation far beyond what is reasonable.”
