OTTAWA, April 19 (NNN-XINHUA) — Canada’s largest federal public service union announced Tuesday night that more than 155,000 workers will go on strike, setting the stage for one of the largest strikes in Canada’s history.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a news release that the strike action taken by its members working for Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency would begin Wednesday.
“We truly hoped we wouldn’t be forced to take strike action, but we’ve exhausted every other avenue to reach a fair contract for Canada’s Federal Public Service workers,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president.
“We’re ready to reach a fair deal as soon as the government is ready to come to the table with a fair offer,” Aylward added.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat responded Tuesday night saying that despite some ongoing movement at the bargaining table on key issues by both sides, PSAC has decided to proceed with a nation-wide general strike, and called on the PSAC “to work with us to build on the progress we’ve already made.”
As a result of the strike, Canadians should expect that some services of the government of Canada will be delayed or unavailable.
Negotiations between PSAC and Treasury Board began in June 2021, but reached an impasse in May 2022.
PSAC is Canada’s largest federal public service union, representing nearly 230,000 workers in every province and territory in Canada, including more than 120,000 federal public service workers employed by Treasury Board, and more than 35,000 employed by the Canada Revenue Agency.
