Following a week of mediation, the federal government is refusing to budge on its wage offer that would effectively deliver a pay cut to nearly 95,000 federal public service workers in the PA group facing record high inflation.
Their revised wage offer was initially proposed during Common Issues mediation in September and would average 2.06% per year over a four-year agreement. Treasury Board held fast to this wage offer during mediation October 4-7.
Our team made it clear that’s not good enough, and PSAC members expect this government to come to the table with a fair contract that protects workers’ buying power.
The government is also still demanding concessions, and made no move to resolve key issues for PA Group members, including group-specific allowances, improvements to call centre working conditions, wage adjustments, or an allowance to compensate employees who use Indigenous languages in the workplace.
Treasury Board seems intent on delaying negotiations and dragging their feet on our most important issues, setting back our members who have been without a new contract since June 2021. In response, PSAC has launched both in-person and online strike training for our more than 165,000 federal public service members to ratchet up the pressure on the government to bargain fairly.
PSAC will now raise these issues at Public Interest Commission hearings, to be scheduled this fall by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board. Meanwhile, dates have been set for mediation for the SV, TC and EB groups:
- SV: October 11-14
- TC: October 18-21
- EB: October 25-27
If an agreement cannot be reached during the Public Interest Commission process, PSAC members should be prepared to continue escalating our actions, up to and including taking strike action if necessary to reach a fair contract.
Stay informed and engaged
Getting involved and taking action are key as we push for a fair contract. Be prepared, get mobilized, stay engaged, and be ready to take action:
- Sign up for online or in-person strike training courses
- Read our Treasury Board bargaining toolkit
- Check out our FAQ on Treasury Board bargaining
- Fill out this survey to share how you’d like to get involved
- Participate in actions, information sessions, lunch and learns, and workshops
- Get in touch with your regional office to find out what’s happening near you
Keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest bargaining updates.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
