Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) demonstrate outside the Treasury Board building in Ottawa on Friday, March 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle

By Derek Craddock

STRIKE MANDATE

Roughly 2,000 workers in northern Sask. could be affected by PSAC strike

Apr 17, 2023 | 12:00 PM

Around 2,000 federal workers in northern Saskatchewan could be on the picket line as early as Wednesday.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) issued a strike mandate last week and on Monday said if a new deal could not be reached by Tuesday night at 9 EDT, workers would go on strike as of Wednesday morning.

In total, some 155,000 employees are prepared to walk off the job, including 35,000 workers from Canada Revenue Agency.

That includes roughly 4,000 workers in Saskatchewan, with almost half in the northern region of the province.

PSAC members work for federal government departments and agencies, as well as Crown Corporations, universities, casinos, First Nations communities, and airports.

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Executive Vice-President of the PSAC-Prairies Marianne Hladun said they have been without a contract since 2021 and they feel the government has been stalling.

“Our members have said that it shouldn’t take two, three, four years to negotiate a collective agreement,” she said. “With the cost of living and where inflation is, they want a collective agreement now.”

The union is calling for a fair wage for its employees to deal with the high cost of living and inflation as well as job security as Hladun said they’ve seen more work being contracted out.

“Quite honestly, privatizing public services costs Canadians more.”

The PSAC is also looking for the government to take action on issues of racism and discrimination in public service and to make remote work more accessible for members.

“We know not everybody can work from home, but what we’re saying is that if an employee wants to work from home, it should be their option and it should be considered and the process should be open and transparent across the board and we want that in the collective agreement,” Hladun said.

Some federal government workers will be able to continue remote work for another year, as most faced a March 31 deadline to return to the office at least two days a week.

A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said the government will take another year to “assess the benefits” of remote work for call centres at the Canada Revenue Agency and the departments of Immigration and Employment and Social Development.

Last week, the federal government issued a statement saying it is committed to reaching an agreement at the bargaining table as soon as possible, adding there are areas where both sides could reach a compromise.

“The common issues Public Interest Commission report provided us with a realistic path to an agreement, including wage increase proposals that align with an agreement already reached with one bargaining agent and that were recently approved for over 90,000 Canadian Forces members,” the statement reads.

At the end of it all, Hladun said they want to set the bar when it comes to fair treatment and making life affordable for all Canadians.

“We’re not MPs, we’re not executives, we’re not the bureaucrats,” she said. “We are the cleaners, the plumbers, the ones answering the phones, the mailroom clerks. They’re also members of your community and so anything that we get returns back into the community.”

“If that means setting the bar a little bit higher for all workers, whether in a union or not, then we’re good with that,” she said.

–With files from The Canadian Press