The Government of Canada responds to the Public Service Alliance of Canada strike vote

April 12, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

The Government of Canada values the important role its employees play in delivering services to Canadians and is committed to reaching collective agreements that are both fair to employees and reasonable for Canadian taxpayers.

Today, the PSAC informed the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) that it has received a positive strike vote from the membership of the EB (Education and Library), PA (Program and Administrative), SV (Operational Services) and TC (Technical Services) bargaining units. This means that public service employees in the Core Public Administration who are members of these bargaining units are now in a legal strike position.

It remains our goal to reach an agreement at the bargaining table as soon as possible. As we announced in our March 30, 2023 statement, both parties agreed to mediated negotiations and those negotiations continue this week. Over the past week we made significant headway, addressing many union demands.

There are many areas where both parties could reach a compromise, including wage increases, and if the PSAC shares our commitment to bargain in good faith, we can reach agreements quickly at the bargaining table. The common issues Public Interest Commission report provided us with a realistic path to an agreement, including wage increase proposals that align with an agreement already reached with one bargaining agent and that were recently approved for over 90,000 Canadian Forces members.

The Government is committed to being transparent with Canadians about impacts to services, should they happen, and is providing information on Canada.ca/Labour-disruptions to help the public identify potential impacts.

Associated Links

• Government of Canada to Begin Mediation with Public Service Alliance of Canada Next Week
• Public Interest Commission Report for the Education and Library Science Group
• Public Interest Commission Report for the Program and Administrative Services Group
• Public Interest Commission Report for the Operational Services Group
• Public Interest Commission Report for the Technical Services Group