TORONTO – Federal civil servants on a war footing, heading for a strike that could involve more than 155,000 workers in administrative, technical, education, library, cleaning and maintenance, immigration and even military bases. 

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced today the results of the votes in favor (or not) of the strike, which took place between February 22nd and April 11th. “The vast majority of our members have told us that they can’t wait any longer and that they are ready to strike to secure a fair deal that will not leave them behind” PSAC national chairman Chris Aylward told reporters, citing a desire for higher wages for union members, who “do not take the decision to strike lightly. They know a strike will be difficult for them and for Canadians who depend on the services they provide, but they are exercising their bargaining power because they can’t wait any longer. Their bills can’t wait, their families can’t wait, their future can’t wait” Aylward added.

The four contracting units involved are part of the Treasury Board Secretariat, a central government agency that acts as the nerve center for a significant number of services: ranging from cleaners and cooks at military bases, to clerical and maintenance workers, merchants, Coast Guard search and rescue teams, teachers, firefighters and workers processing employment insurance, passport applications and immigration documents. Aylward said the various units are in favor of the strike “but the desire of the union is to reach an agreement with the federal government”. His division, the fifth bargaining unit involved representing 35,000 Canadian Revenue Agency workers, also voted to go on strike last week. 

“It’s not too late for the federal government to do the right thing and avoid one of the largest strikes in Canadian history,” Aylward added, explaining that “our bargaining teams are at the negotiating table and whatever they need they’re people with a mandate to get a fair deal, and there’s no reason they can’t get it”.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, today in Winnipeg, declared that the federal government recognizes the “incredible work” done by civil servants, adding that “we will continue to engage constructively at the negotiating table”.

Relationships are actually very tense. Earlier this year, the federal government filed two complaints against the PSAC saying the union is not negotiating “in good faith” for a new deal. In fact, he claims that the PSAC has “flooded the negotiating tables with costly proposals” and has “refused to go ahead”.

The PSAC left the negotiating table on 1 September 2022, during the sixth negotiating session: the parties had been negotiating since last summer. The union also said the federal government’s move to file a complaint was “just another stalling tactic to deny workers a fair contract,” adding that the government had refused to “negotiate remote work and a better work-life balance at the table”.

When combined, the 35,000 CRA workers with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s 120,000-plus employees make up a “slice” of more than 155,000 federal employees, representing about half the staff of the 335,957 employees working with the federal public service. In the event of their strike, in fact every activity in the whole country would be paralyzed, moreover in a delicate period such as that of the payment of taxes: there could be delays in this sense. And that’s not all: even services such as unemployment, on which many families depend on checks, could see a stop which, in times of economic difficulty like the ones we are experiencing, would represent yet another big problem for those who are struggling to get to the end of the month.

In the pic above, a protest demonstration by the PSAC (photo from the union website https://psacunion.ca)