Central government employees strike: Services to citizens disrupted

An indefinite general strike by around 155,000 central government employees will disrupt many services for citizens from Wednesday.

• Read more: Central government employees are going ahead with their strike

• Read more: General strike threat: Here are the demands of 150,000 central government employees

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which expressed regret Tuesday evening about not reaching an agreement with the federal government, plans fewer than 250 walkouts across the country.

“Over the past two weeks, our teams have worked hard to reach an agreement with the Treasury Board,” PSAC National President Chris Aylward said at a press conference.

Ottawa responded quickly to the public employee walkout, indicating on Wednesday that it had done everything it could to reach an agreement with the union to avoid disrupting essential services for Canadians.

“We urge PSAC to work with us to reach an expeditious resolution so that we can restore the critical services that Canadians rely on,” the Treasury Board said.

As a result of this walkout of federal public servants, Canadians should expect some government services to be delayed or not delivered, according to a report from the Treasury Board of Canada.

The strike, which will affect about a third of civil servants, will cause disruptions in government services, including processing employment insurance, immigration, passport applications and, in particular, tax returns.

PSAC members without a contract starting in 2021 are seeking a 13.5% salary increase over three years, while the Trudeau government is proposing 9% over the same period.