Ottawa: Canada’s largest federal public-service union says that some 155,000 workers will go on strike after talks with the government failed to produce an agreement before its 9 p.m. ET deadline.
The bargaining groups involve some 155,000 federal public servants, including 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers.
Mediated contract negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the government began in early April and continued through the weekend in what the union describes as the government’s last chance to reach a deal.
Wage increases have been top of mind at the bargaining table, and the union has also pushed for work-from-home options to be written into a new collective agreement.
Negotiations over the new contract first began in June 2021, with the union declaring an impasse in May 2022 and both parties filing labour complaints since then.
The union called a strike vote in January, and it announced that members had voted in favour of a strike mandate early last week. — Canadian Press