Public Service Union Threatens to Move Picket Lines to ‘Strategic Locations’ to Increase Disruption

PSAC workers and supporters picket in front of President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier's office in Ottawa on April 21, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

As the federal public service workers’ strike reaches its sixth day, the union representing the workers said on April 24 that it will move its picket lines to “strategic locations” in order to cause greater disruption to the federal government.

“This government seems content to prolong this strike and its impact on Canadians by dragging out negotiations. Our members are frustrated by the government’s lack of progress at the table this weekend, and that’s why we may need to escalate our actions,” Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a press release.

“Our goal is to pressure this government to reach a fair contract as quickly as possible, so that our members can get back to delivering the services Canadians depend on.”

Two PSAC groups—a larger Treasury Board group of more than 120,000 workers across several government departments and a smaller group of more than 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)—have been striking across Canada since the federal government and PSAC failed to reach a deal before an April 18 deadline.

The union is asking for a 13.5 percent raise for its members over three years due to the rising cost of living—arguing that its workers stepped up during the pandemic and deserve compensation—as well as for employees to be given the option to work from home full-time, instead of the Treasury Board’s proposed “hybrid model.”

Ottawa has warned that the strike could impact a number of federal services, including taxes, border services, employment insurance, veteran support, and passport applications.

Last week, Aylward warned that Canada could begin to see “more and more inconvenience” if the strike continued without a deal. “We’re not taking over the streets. We’re not shutting down airports or borders yet. We’re not inconveniencing the public today,” Aylward said in Ottawa on April 19.

During an interview with CBC News in Ottawa on April 23, Aylward said the pickets might target “strategic locations that are going to have an impact on the government and in particular on revenue streams as well.”

While PSAC has not specified what “strategic locations” it might move its picket lines to, it previously warned the federal government that port workers could walk off the job and cause supply chain interruptions. Those workers include clerks, deck hands, cooks, storekeepers, maintenance workers, and engine-room technicians.

During PSAC’s strike in 1991, workers picketed the Vancouver terminals to block shipments of grain, delayed flights at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, closed locks along the Rideau Canal between Ottawa and Kingston, and caused traffic disruptions in cities across Canada.

Negotiation Progress

On April 23, PSAC said the strike was closer to being resolved, as progress had been made on wage increases for Treasury Board employees and work-from-home policies. Discussions surrounding a deal for Canada Revenue Agency workers are ongoing.

A day prior, Aylward told reporters that Treasury Board President Mona Fortier had shown “incompetence” by allowing the negotiations to drag out. He also accused the federal government of showing “disrespect” at the negotiating table by not responding to one of the issues outlined in PSAC’s proposal last week.

Fortier said on April 23 that there had been “ups and downs” and “kicking and screaming” in the negotiation process, but that the federal government is focused on securing a good deal for public servants and for Canadians.

“We’ve been in mediation for three weeks, we’ve been at the table for three weeks,” Fortier told CTV Question Period host Vassy Kapelos in an interview.

“There have been ups and downs, there has been kicking and screaming, but the important thing right now is that we are focused, and we have a deal that is good for public servants, a fair one, and that is reasonable for Canadians, and that’s what we’re trying to focus on right now.”

‘Not Here to Play Games’

On April 23, the Treasury Board also accused the PSAC of “stalling and misinformation” when it came to bargaining. Monica Granados, Press Secretary to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, said numerous proposals had been made to PSAC, but they have seen “very little movement from them on their demands.”

Granados said that last Friday, PSAC was “unreachable at the negotiation table. On Saturday, after being given a new offer by the Treasury Board, the PSAC took three hours to respond to the request, accepted the meeting, and then cancelled it.

“While our negotiators and our offer waited, Mr. Aylward chose instead, to go on television to complain that he had not received it,” Granados said.

“We are not here to play games, we are here to get a deal. Our employees and the public they serve expect both parties to work hard at the bargaining table.”