PSAC President Calls for Trudeau to Be Involved in Talks as Strike Escalates

Public Service Alliance of Canada workers protest on Parliament Hill on April 26, 2023. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

As the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) escalates its strike by blocking some government buildings and key infrastructure, PSAC President Chris Aylward called for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be involved in talks to help the two parties reach a deal.

“The prime minister knows exactly what it takes to settle this dispute. And we’re asking him to make sure that he gets involved to help settle this dispute to get our members back to work serving Canadians,” Aylward said.

Two PSAC groups—a Treasury Board group of more than 120,000 workers across several government departments and a smaller group of more than 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)—have been striking across Canada since April 19 after the federal government and PSAC failed to reach a deal before the deadline.

The union is asking for a 13.5 percent raise over three years for its members due to the rising cost of living, as well as for some employees to be given the option to work from home full-time instead of the Treasury Board’s proposed “hybrid model.”

Standing with hundreds of PSAC workers on Parliament Hill today, Aylward said the union would not accept the federal government’s proposal of a 9 percent raise over the next three years, and its members would strike “as long as it takes.” He also called for Trudeau to join the workers and tell them “why he can’t get involved and why he can’t help settle this dispute.”

Trudeau said in Ottawa on April 26 that it was “frustrating” that many Canadians “may have more difficulty accessing services” in the coming days due to the strike, but that it was a “motivator for everyone to try and resolve this.”

“As a government, we are there to respect collective bargaining. We’re there to make progress at the table, and right now, progress is being made,“ he told reporters in Ottawa. ”There’s an ebb and flow in these negotiations always, but we’re going to continue to stay positive and constructive.”

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier told reporters in Ottawa today that she was “frustrated” amid talks, accusing PSAC of making “unaffordable” offers to the federal government.

“I wish we could find a reasonable place to be able to offer fair wages to employees. I cannot write a blank cheque,” she said. “We will continue to negotiate. We’re still at the table, but we’re just at the place where we hope for some movement today.”

Blockades

On April 24, Aylward warned the union would move its picket lines to “strategic locations” in order to cause greater disruption to the federal government. That day, striking workers also briefly blocked the Port of Montreal in Quebec, the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia, and the Port of St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Then on April 25, workers in Ottawa temporarily blocked access to the Prime Minister’s Office building and the Treasury Board headquarters, while another group blocked vehicles on a bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec, where many federal buildings are located.

At 8:30 a.m. on April 26, striking PSAC members blocked access to Canadian Forces Base Kingston, which a spokesperson said impacted the “day-to-day function at the base.”

“While operational and emergency traffic has not been stopped, it has been delayed due to the increased traffic in the area,” Lt. John Byrtus, a spokesperson for CFB Kingston, told the Epoch Times.

“The safety and security of our members, those on the picket lines and the community are the top priority for CFB Kingston so our leadership is working with those at the picket line to reduce these delays to vital services.”

Peter Wilson contributed to this report.