Public Servants Forced Federal Government to Improve Deal By Going on Strike, Labour Experts Say
PressProgressMay 01, 2023
The Canada Revenue Agency on Thursday revealed it has struck a "tentative" deal with the Public Service Alliance of Canada's Union of Taxation Employees, ending a two-week strike of more than 35K workers.
The proposed agreement includes an 11.5% wage increase over four years, retroactive to 2021, and a one-time payment of CA$2.5K (US$1.8K). The deal also requires managers to assess work-from-home requests individually.
This walkout — one of the largest in Canadian history — has made it clear that workers can resist and challenge the status quo by joining forces and standing up for each other, instead of just accepting whatever the employer offers. Canada's federal government was forced to raise its original offer, improving wages and working conditions due to the resolute strike action.
Government workers have long lost touch with reality, striking for unreasonable demands after working part-time — and remotely for full-time — pay since the outbreak of the pandemic. If they are truly dissatisfied and believe they are being underpaid by the federal government, they should resign and try the private sector.
There's a 58% chance that the Liberal Party will win the most seats in the next Canadian federal election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.