Canada Strike – Closer To Resolving Wage, Remote Work Issues

The union announced on Sunday that there has been progressing on remote work and wage increases for Treasury Board employees, bringing the strike by about 155,000 Canadian federal government employees closer to an end.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a statement that the strike is expected to continue for the time being despite ongoing negotiations about a deal for revenue agency employees. The union has declared that its actions will “escalate” on Monday.

Since last Wednesday, when 120,000 employees of the Treasury Board and 35,000 employees of the revenue agencies, who are all represented by the PSAC, went on strike, a wide range of public services, including tax returns and passport renewals, have been impacted.

Chris Aylward, National President of PSAC, said, “At Treasury Board, we made some headway on remote work language, and both sides have moved in order to get closer to a resolution on wage increases.”

He added that there had been no progress in the negotiations with the government regarding pay increases for employees of the revenue agents who supervise tax returns.

The employees of the revenue agencies sought a pay increase of 22.5% over three years, while those of the Treasury Board, which supervises the operation of the federal government, requested a pay increase of 13.5% over the same period. Both groups received a 9% rise over three years from the government.

Inflation in Canada peaked at 8.1% last year, but it has since decreased to about half of that level.

Canada Strike – Closer To Resolving Wage, Remote Work Issues

The union is requesting flexibility to work from home and higher pay.

Without going into further detail, a government spokesperson told news sources on Sunday that it had received an offer from the union the previous evening and had responded with a counter-offer.