The union representing more than 155,000 federal civil servants said April 17 strike action will start April 19 if a deal is not reached by 9 p.m. ET April 18.
About 3,000 employees working in agriculture-related positions with the Public Service Alliance of Canada are among the potential walkouts.
PSCA said about 120,000 government workers are Treasury Board employees in programs and administrative services, operational services, technical services and education and library science. The rest work for Canada Revenue Agency.
Read Also
Agri-business and farms front and centre for Alberta’s Open Farm Days
Open Farm Days continues to enjoy success in its 14th year running, as Alberta farms and agri-businesses were showcased to increase awareness on how food gets to the dinner plate.
National president Chris Aylward said progress at four bargaining tables was made over the past week but the parties were still far apart on several issues including wages. He said salaries must keep up with the cost of living. Job security and remote work language are also outstanding issues.
“We’re committed to remaining at the table until a fair deal is reached for all our members,” he said.
The workers have been without a contract since June 2021.
Milton Dyck, national president of the PSAC Agriculture Union, said if the strike begins, essential workers who take care of livestock and handle payroll would be exempt from the walkout.
“For the most part, everybody will be out on the picket line for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,” he said.
He said services for farmers and others seeking government assistance would be unavailable. This includes business risk management programs such as AgriInvest and AgriStability, agri-environmental programs, the Canadian Agricultural Loans Program, the Canadian Dairy Commission and the Canadian Grain Commission.
“We would no longer be doing outward inspections at the shipping ports,” Dyck said, which would have consequences for grain exports.
He said deadlines for financial programs could be affected.
Agriculture Canada said the Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program, Wine Sector Support Program, Youth
Employment and Skills Program and federal programs under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership could be impacted.
The AAFC contact centre could also be disrupted.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers are not part of the job action because they haven’t yet voted and aren’t likely to do so for a while, he added. That bargaining unit is likely headed to mediation.
Dyck said union members don’t want to see federal agricultural research programs affected but that might be a consequence.
“We’re very proud of the work we do but we feel that we need to be valued as well,” he said. “We’ve been on the worksites the whole time. We haven’t slowed down and haven’t stopped all through the pandemic and we felt that we’ve really pulled through.”
Treasury Board had offered wage increases of about two percent on average over four years, while the union wanted about twice that. In February, a federal labour commission published a report recommending four PSAC bargaining units receive increases of 1.5 percent in 2021, 4.5 percent for 2022 and three percent for 2023.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
