The majority of Canadians said they feel Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) employees are fairly (36%) or overly compensated (28%), according to a poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute. .There were 17% of Canadians who feel PSAC workers are unpaid, according to the Thursday poll. The poll said 19% of them were unsure or could not say. .Past Conservative supporters were the most likely to say Canadian government workers were overpaid (46%). The NDP was most likely to say the opposite (33%). .Views of compensation colour opinions of the union’s demands. The poll said the people who feel employees were unpaid were near-unanimous in their support for the 13.5% wage increase (91%). .One area where Canadians were unified was the sentiment Canadian government employees have better working conditions than those in other similar, private industries. It said 72% feel government workers have it better when it comes to benefits, job security, pension plans, and other perks. .Majorities of past NDP, Liberal, and Conservative voters said they believe the government workers have better working conditions than those with similar jobs in the private sector. However, the majority is smaller among those who voted NDP in 2021 (58%) than those who selected Conservative (82%) or Liberal (76%). .The poll found union membership is not a monolith when it comes to modern politics. Among those who are union members, one-third voted for the Liberals in 2021. .The Conservatives (28%) received more support than the NDP (26%). Among those who have worked in a public union, two-fifths supported the Liberals, while the same percentage voted for the Conservatives and NDP (24%). .PSAC National President Chris Aylward told reporters on April 18 about 155,000 employees working for the Canadian government would go on strike the following day. .READ MORE: 155,000 federal gov’t workers hit the picket lines, over wages, inflation.“The members are pumped,” said Aylward..He said the union would continue negotiating with the Canadian government if it remained engaged in the collective bargaining process..The poll was conducted online among a representative randomized sample of 1,276 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum from April 20 to 21. It has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
