Picket lines have gone up across the country as more than 155,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada members working for Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency began strike action on April 19. As a result of the labour action, Canadians should expect that some services of the Government of Canada will be delayed or unavailable.
This is one of the largest strikes in Canadian history.
With nearly a third of Federal Civil Service employees walking the picket lines, Canadians can expect to see slowdowns or a complete shutdown of services nationwide, including an interruption 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.
“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,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “Now more than ever, workers need fair wages, good working conditions and inclusive workplaces. And it’s clear the only way we’ll achieve that is by taking strike action to show the government that workers can’t wait.”
Some services have been deemed essential. Workers in essential positions can’t participate in a strike and must return to work. However, essential workers may take a ‘work to rule’ position which could translate into a slow down in the delivery of the services they have been hired to provide to taxpayers.
Essential services include:
- Employment Insurance payments
- Canada Pension Plan payments
- Veterans’ income support
- Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments
Of the 120,000 positions that work to deliver these services, approximately 46,000 have been deemed essential and will be at work.
Of the 39,000 positions at the Canada Revenue Agency, a separate employer, approximately 1,400 have been deemed essential.
The Federal Government has set up a search tool that allows Canadians to understand the impact of the strike on service delivery for institutions such as Canada Border Services Agency, Health Canada, Transport Canada and more. Canadians can visit: Labour Disruptions to learn more.