CANADA

35,000 CRA employees still on strike

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada • Yesterday 

The national strike is over for Treasury Board employees, but 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers remain on strike.

Early Monday, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) reached a tentative contract agreement with the Treasury Board covering more than 120,000 federal government workers who have been on strike since April 19. They're back at work today, or on their next scheduled shift.

"In the end, we reached fair, competitive agreements for employees that are reasonable for Canadians," reads a Monday statement from Treasury Board attributed to president Mona Fortier.

But contract negotiations for CRA workers are ongoing, according to the Union of Taxation Employees, which is a segment of PSAC.

In Ottawa, they were back on a picket line in the rain at the Canada Post building on Heron Road starting at 7 a.m. ET.

Telework, wages, job security still an issue

In a statement Monday, PSAC said some issues relating to hours of work and information management have been resolved. But telework, wages, improved job security and better protections against jobs being contracted out are some of the key issues still at play.

The union continues to push for telework agreements to be enshrined in the collective agreement.

The tentative deal reached for Treasury Board workers, meanwhile, doesn't include any such language in the collective agreement. Instead, the two sides agreed to a review of the directive on telework, and departmental panels will be created to advise deputy heads about employee concerns.

As for wages, as of April 19 CRA said PSAC was asking for a bump of 22.5 per cent over three years.


Canada Revenue Agency workers continued to strike on Monday as in-person negotiations with the union resumed.© Mateo Garcie-Tremblay/Radio-Canada

The last public offer from the Canada Revenue Agency was a nine-per-cent wage increase over three years, which mirrors the recommendations of the third-party Public Interest Commission.

Government services including passports and immigration were disrupted over the course of the strike, and concerns were raised over filing taxes as well.

Marc Brière, the national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, declined an interview with Radio-Canada on Monday. In an emailed statement in French, he said the union would be in negotiations all day, and that he didn't want to interfere with that process.

In a statement CRA said in-person negotiations with the union resumed Monday aiming to reach a new collective agreement that is "fair to employees and reasonable for taxpayers."

Despite the strike, CRA said the tax filing deadline has not changed, meaning returns should be filed and any balance owed should be paid by May 1.