Around 120,000 of the federal employees represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are returning to work today as the union says it has reached a tentative bargaining agreement with the Liberal government for some its members on strike.
The tentative agreement applies to federally employed PSAC members in the Education and Library (EB),Program and Administrative (PA), Operational Services (SV), and Technical Services (TC) bargaining units.
“With the national strike now over for Treasury Board workers, members of the PA, SV, TC and EB bargaining groups are required to return to work beginning May 1 at 9 a.m. ET or their next scheduled shift after that date,” PSAC said in a press release.
The union says it has negotiated wage increases for the Treasury Board workers totalling 12.6 percent compounded over the agreement lifespan from 2021 to 2024.
PSAC also said that it secured one additional year in the agreement after 2024 that “protects workers from inflation.” It also negotiated for “a pensionable $2,500 one-time lump sum payment that represents an additional 3.7% of salary for the average PSAC member in Treasury Board bargaining units.”
The Treasury Board said the tentative agreement includes a wage increase for the PSAC members of 11.5 percent over four years that is retroactive to 2021 and will cover periods until the summer of 2025.
PSAC previously said it was demanding a 13.5 percent wage raise over three years for its members due to high inflation.
The tentative agreement is just for PSAC’s Treasury Board members, the union said, which still leaves around 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers also represented by PSAC without a deal.
The national strike of more than 155,000 PSAC members began on April 18. After several days without a deal, the union escalated its strike measures by blocking some government buildings and key infrastructure.
In addition to its demands for wage increases, PSAC also called on the federal government to give some public servants the option to work from home full-time instead of the Treasury Board’s proposed “hybrid model,” consisting of some work days in the office.
PSAC also demanded changes to Ottawa’s contract outsourcing and its seniority rules in the event of a layoff.
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in an open letter on April 24 that while the federal government would look into reducing its number of outsourced contractors, cutting them completely would “severely compromise the Government’s ability to deliver services and work for Canadians.”
Matthew Horwood and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
