Union Representing Over 120,000 Federal Workers Votes to Strike

Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) demonstrate outside the Treasury Board building in Ottawa on March 31, 2023. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle)

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)—a union that represents more than 120,000 federal public servants across the country—has voted in favour of a strike mandate.

“PSAC members are feeling squeezed along with everyone else. Our members have been without a contract since 2021. And today, an overwhelming majority of our members have told us they can’t wait any longer and they are prepared to strike to secure a fair deal that won’t see them fall behind,” PSAC President Chris Aylward said during a press conference on April 12.

The strike mandate comes after nationwide strike votes that took place from Feb. 22 to April 11. Aylward did not say exactly how many members voted for the strike.

Back in January, the union announced strike votes for its workers due to a disagreement with the Treasury Board over proposed wage increases it said did not keep up with the rate of inflation.

Aylward said that many members, who make between $40,000 and $65,000 a year, have been “falling into debt and making sacrifices just to make ends meet.”

Aylward said while the union’s members “won’t take the decision to strike lightly,” as it will impact Canadians who rely on the services they provide, “they’re exercising their bargaining power because they just can’t wait any longer.”

“Their bills can’t wait. Their families can’t wait. None of us can,” Aylward added.

Workers Involved

As Canada’s largest union representing federal workers, the striking workers include those employed by the Treasury Board in the Program and Administrative Services, Operational Services, Technical Services, and Education and Library Science bargaining groups.

Examples of the workers represented by PSAC are cleaners and cooks on military bases, clerks and maintenance workers, tradespeople, Coast Guard search and rescue teams, teachers, firefighters, and those who process employment insurance, passport applications and immigration documents.

PSAC leadership said a strike would likely affect services like employment insurance, grain exports and border crossings, and workers who helped set up pandemic financial aid programs like CERB.

Last week, about 35,000 PSAC workers at the Canada Revenue Agency—which is represented by the Union of Taxation Employees—also voted for strike action. In total more than 155,000 federal public servants represented by the PSAC now have a strike mandate.

Negotiations between PSAC and the Treasury Board began back in June 2021. PSAC’s last public proposal was a 4.5 percent wage increase for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The last offer the Treasury Board shared was to increase wages by 2.06 percent on average over four years, up from an average of 1.7 percent per year.

PSAC paused negotiations in May 2022, calling the 1.7 percent wage increase “insulting” and “entirely out of touch with record-high inflation.” This resulted in the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board holding public interest commissions in November and December 2022.

On Jan. 13, 2023, the Treasury Board filed a complaint with the labour board, claiming PSAC was “bargaining in bad faith,” by flooding the bargaining tables with “costly proposals.” In response, the union called the move a stalling tactic.

During a press conference on April 12, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while the federal government wants to ensure it can deliver services for Canadians, it also believes in collective bargaining for the public service unions.

“It’s really important that that happens at the collective bargaining table. And that’s why we’re going to continue to engage in a constructive way at the table,” he said.