PSAC members were on the picket line in Prince Albert for 12 days until a tentative agreement came down. (Rob Mahon/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Prince Albert Workers Return

Relief, gratitude for Prince Albert PSAC members as strike ends

May 1, 2023 | 9:58 AM

After 12 days of a massive, nationwide strike, thousands of Public Service Alliance of Canada workers are back on the job.

The PSAC announced early this morning they had come to a tentative agreement, and those on the picket lines in Prince Albert have returned to their jobs. It happened suddenly, but it still brought some relief.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of information because it happened so late in the evening,” said Dawn Montgrant, local union president. “Knowing that our people would have to report for early today, when I first sent the email out, all I could say was ‘We’ve reached a deal so back to work tomorrow.’”

The strike affected around 300 workers in Prince Albert, but they weren’t the only ones on the picket lines. Friends and family joined them in front of Indigenous Services Canada and the Saskatchewan Penitentiary, while passing drivers honked in support.

“We really want to express a sincere thank you to everyone who joined us,” said Montgrant. “It’s bittersweet for us because we still have a group of PSAC people that are still negotiating, so not everyone is back to work today, but for those that joined us in Prince Albert, we certainly appreciated it. It just lifted everyone’s spirits to see people coming out and offering support.”

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The new agreement, which still requires a vote from membership, secures PSAC members a 12.6 per cent increase over the course of four years, as well as other considerations, including protection for remote work.

“We were there because we really felt like our wages were not keeping up with inflation,” Montgrant said. “This deal gets us a little bit closer.”

With more than 150,000 workers taking job action, the strike was among the largest in Canadian history. Now that it’s over, Montgrant said it could serve as a demonstration of the bargaining power unions and strikes can give other workers.

“A lot of people, when they think of a strike, it doesn’t give them warm, fuzzy feelings,” Montgrant said. “But as workers, that’s our power. We can withdraw our labour if we feel we’re not being treated fairly. Not every group is going to come to the same conclusions, but when our bargaining unit put it to the members, we knew that was what we had to do to try to get some progress.”

About 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency Workers are still on strike, but according to Montgrant, none of those are in Prince Albert as the CRA offices in Saskatchewan are in Regina and Saskatoon.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP