On the first day of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (PSAC) general strike, hundreds of workers gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to demand better wages.
“Workers are fed up, workers are frustrated, and workers are saying enough is enough. We’re not going to take the garbage anymore,” PSAC national president Chris Aylward told a crowd of striking workers from the picket line on 90 Elgin Street in Ottawa.
“We’re still at the table. Talks are ongoing, but we’re going to stay out here for as long as it takes, until we get a fair deal.”
Following the passing of a 9 p.m. strike deadline on the night of April 18, over 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers and 120,000 Treasury Board workers set up picket lines at more than 250 locations across Canada. Hundreds of workers gathered in downtown Ottawa.
Early Wednesday morning, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and several of his caucus members joined the PSAC strikers on Parliament Hill. He called for the federal government to offer more than the 9 percent cumulative wage offer and to give a “fair contract” that responds to all of PSCA’s demands.
“These workers are the workers that were there for Canadians when people needed help the most during the pandemic. These are the workers that delivered unprecedented supports, financial supports to people, and now they’re asking for respect and dignity,” Singh said.
Workers Say Government Salaries Not Keeping Up With Inflation
Following Aylward’s speech, workers marched up the street to Parliament Hill carrying signs that read things like “2% is for milk,” “Mo' money cause this ain’t funny,” and “Fortier around and find out”—referencing Treasury Board President Mona Fortier, who said Wednesday that the federal government “cannot write a blank check” to workers.Jessica Lanson, a worker at the Canada Revenue Agency, told The Epoch Times she has received no salary increase since the beginning of the pandemic, despite having “stepped up and repurposed ourselves in a hurry.”
“We were there for Canadians, and I would like the government to be there for us,” she said. “The cost of living is insane. I have to support myself on $60,000, and I spend $250 bucks every time I walk into a grocery store ... Where’s the support for regular Canadians?”
Sarah Potvin, an employee with Public Services and Procurement Canada, told The Epoch Times she believes those averages take into account people who are at the “highest level of classification within an organization,” but her salary is much lower.
“So yes, I’m getting good pay compared to other jobs in the private sector, for example, where I might not be making the same money if I was doing the same job. But the inflation rates do make an impact on how much I’m making,” she said.
While Potvin acknowledged that her government position gives her certain advantages, she questioned how she could survive if the cost of living keeps increasing. “You’re supposed to live to do work, and I’m doing the opposite. I’m just constantly working just to try to make ends meet and that shouldn’t be the case.”
Potvin said while their strikes will result in disruptions to many government services, she said Canadians also experienced interruptions during the pandemic. “We had to adapt, and once again, we’re going to have to do the same thing. But this time around we’re allowed to be in contact and go into buildings to get the services we need. So I don’t feel like the impact itself is probably as significant as most people are trying to make out.”
Chris King, an employee with Employment and Social Development Canada, said he believed the public service did a “really good job” of helping Canadians get through the pandemic. “We’ve worked really hard on our part, and I think we’re just fighting for fair wages.”
