Public Service Strikers’ Demands Will Cost $1B if Met by Ottawa: Report

PSAC workers and supporters picket outside the Canada Revenue Agency office in Sudbury, Ont., on April 19, 2023. Gino Donato/The Canadian Press

An additional $1 billion of public-servant compensation will be required if Ottawa meets the demands of the union representing around 159,000 federal workers currently on strike, says a business advocacy organization.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) wrote in a report on April 19 that wage hikes the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is requesting for certain public servants would cost the federal government approximately $1 billion to meet.

The CFIB also notes that this estimated price does not include the “significant wage demands among the other PSAC unions.”

CFIB President Dan Kelly said in a release that any significant public-sector wage hikes would “also put pressure on the private sector to do the same—making the shortage of labour an even bigger challenge for small businesses.”

About 35,000 federal employees working at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and 120,000 federal Treasury Board employees all represented by PSAC began a national general strike on April 19 after the Liberal government failed to meet the union’s demands by 9 p.m. the previous day.

The union has set up strikers’ picket lines at more than 250 locations across the country.

Negotiations

PSAC National President Chris Aylward said on April 17 that there was some bargaining progress over the past two weeks, but that it wasn’t enough to meet the union’s demands, which he said include wages, job security, and remote work.

The CRA wrote in a statement on April 19 that it offered its 35,000 employees represented by PSAC a 9-percent wage increase over three years.

However, CRA said PSAC rejected the offer and instead proposed a 22.5-percent wage hike for the employees over the course of three years, which it said included a market adjustment of 2 percent.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat also issued a statement the day prior saying it offered PSAC a similar wage-increase offer that was rejected.

“The Government has presented a fair, competitive offer to the PSAC and responded to all their demands,” the Treasury Board wrote, adding that it also offered a 9-percent wage increase over three years along with “proposals on other important PSAC priorities.”

The Treasury Board described these PSAC priorities as “telework, shift premiums, improved leave with pay for family-related responsibilities, and measures to support employment equity and diversity and inclusion.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.