Canadian history will witness one of the biggest government employee strikes on Wednesday (April 19), as a result of failed negotiations with a public sector union. The final deadline of 9 p.m. in the talks between the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Treasury Board of Canada, which hires government employees, passed without a resolution. Around 155,000 federal workers will go on strike on Wednesday at midnight, according to PSAC.
“We truly hoped we wouldn’t be forced to take strike action, but we’ve exhausted every other avenue to reach a fair contract for Canada’s Federal Public Service workers,” PSAC national president Chris Aylward.
One of the services that will be affected is immigration, which will have an impact on applicants for temporary work permits, permanent residency, and study permits for prospective overseas students. The largest country cohort for these categories consists of Indian nationals.
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In a statement released on Tuesday night, PSAC said, “With nearly a third of the entire federal public service workers on strike, Canadians can expect to see slowdowns or a complete shutdown of services nationwide beginning tomorrow, including a complete halt of the tax season; disruptions to employment insurance, immigration, and passport applications; interruptions to supply chains and international trade at ports; and slowdowns at the border with administrative staff on strike.”
A rise of 13.5 per cent over three years, retrospective to 2021, is one of the proposals from the union. The administration responded with a number of 9% distributed all through that time frame.
Negotiations are anticipated to go on even after the strike starts because, as Aylward stated, “We’re ready to reach a fair deal as soon as the government is ready to come to the table with a fair offer.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada had voiced optimism earlier in the day on Tuesday that a strike could be averted.
