National PSAC strike enters its second week

One of the largest strikes in Canadian history entered its second week on Wednesday, April 26 as Public Service Alliance of Canada workers remain on picket lines across the country, including in Kamloops.

The bargaining groups involve about 155,000 federal public servants, including 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency employees. About 120,000 employees can legally strike as they are not deemed to be of essential service.

Among the issues are wages, rules around working remotely and job security. The union wants a three-year deal with annual raises of 4.5 per cent, while the Treasury Board has offered the union a nine per cent raise over three years.

Since the strike involves nearly one-third of all federal public servants, both the union and the government have warned of disruptions, including with tax returns, border traffic and applications for employment insurance, immigration and passports.

Beginning this week, Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Chris Aylward said, the union will be ramping up its ongoing strike by moving picket lines to strategic locations, such as ports, in an effort to pressure the federal government .

Negotiations on a new contract began in June 2021.

To find out if a government department you need to access is impacted, go online to tinyurl.com/ym57eaud and do a search for the applicable government department.

Workers in Kamloops have joined the more than 100,000 federal public servants who are on strike across the country after the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada failed to reach a deal before an April 18 deadline. The strike began on April 19, with wages, working remotely and job security among the issues cited by the union.