The strike of 155,000 Canadian federal employees begins
The Federation of Public Sector Employees of Canada started a strike in the federal public service last midnight after negotiations between it and the federal government's Treasury Board failed to reach an agreement on its demands.
The Canadian Public Service Alliance includes more than 155,000 employees in many federal ministries and agencies.
The federation had threatened to start the strike at the beginning of Wednesday if an agreement was not reached with the government by 9:00 pm on Tuesday.
The union is calling for a wage increase of 13.5 percent over three years (4.5 percent annually). The Treasury Board Secretariat, the government department responsible for government employees, offered nine percent over three years.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the union, which represents the striking federal public servants, to strike a deal quickly to avoid dangerous disruptions to service.
Speaking to reporters before the Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday, Trudeau said the government made an offer on Monday but the Canadian Public Service Alliance, to which it has not meaningfully responded.
And the union announced, late on Tuesday, that more than 150,000 workers will leave their jobs after it failed to reach an agreement with Ottawa on a new collective agreement after months of negotiations.
The union represents about 120,000 federal government employees working in various ministries and about 35,000 members of the Tax Employees Union working for the Canada Revenue Agency. According to the union, citizens can expect slowdowns or interruptions in many federal government services, such as unemployment benefits, immigration applications and passport applications.
This strike also results in a complete halt in the processing of income tax returns, the interruption of supply activities and commercial exchanges at ports and airports, as well as a slowdown in service at border crossings, where administrative staff are also participating in the strike.
International News Agency Rudaw24
