Strike votes are planned for another 120,000 federal government workers

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has announced it will hold strike ballots for another 120,000 federal public servants, just two weeks after taking the same step for 35,000 tax employees.

The union says talks with the Treasury have broken down for four more bargaining groups over the same issue: proposed wage increases that are outpacing the rate of inflation.

Among the four newest groups are Program and Administrative Services, the largest bargaining unit in the core federal civil service. It has nearly 100,000 employees who administer programs, communications, clerical functions, data processing, and more.

Strike ballots will be held from February 22 to April 19 for them, as well as operatives such as firefighters, tradesmen and ship’s crews, the technical services group and the education and library science group.

The collective agreements for all four groups expired in the summer of 2021.

“Wages are stagnant, the cost of living is rising and workers are being left behind. Workers can’t wait. None of us can,” PSAC National President Chris Aylward said in a statement.

Wage increases are a major issue

The PSAC said it had declared an impasse in negotiations last May because the proposed pay rise of 2.06 per cent on average from 2021 to 2025 was “offensive” and “totally out of line with record high inflation”.

This led to the formation of mediation and public interest committees at the Federal Public Sector Employment and Labor Relations Board, which held hearings in November and December.

Once those non-binding recommendations are reported, PSAC said it could be in a position to strike if members vote in favor.

The two sides have traded barrages of accusations in recent weeks.

On January 13, the Treasury Department filed a complaint with the labor board, alleging PSAC was “bargaining in bad faith.” It said PSAC had “flooded the bargaining tables with expensive proposals.”

The union quickly denied this, calling it a stalling tactic. At the weekend, it was suggested that a fair contract with the finance council would only be achieved with a strong strike mandate from union members.