WORLD NEWS | Canadian contract deal ends strike for most public servants

OTTAWA, May 1 (AP) — The Canadian government reached a tentative contract agreement with its largest union on Monday, ending a 12-day strike by more than 120,000 public servants.

The four-year agreement affects most workers in the Canadian Public Service Federation, including immigrant workers, administrative staff at agencies, maintenance workers, port workers and firefighters.

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But about 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers are still on the picket line.

The union’s national president, Chris Aylward, said in a statement the group “stands its ground” and “secured a fair contract to keep up with the cost of living, strengthen protections for remote work, And create safer, more inclusive workplaces.”

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Mona Fortier, chairman of the Treasury committee, called the deal “fair and competitive.”

“We negotiated, we compromised, we found creative solutions,” she told a news conference.

The deal will boost wages by 11.5% over four years and will cost Canadian taxpayers C$1.3 billion ($96 million per year), Fortier said.

The union said the contractual agreement ensured wage increases totaling 12.6 percent compounded over four years, as well as a one-time, pensionable one-time payment of C$2,500 ($1,896.00), which is equivalent to 3.7 percent of the average union member’s salary on the Finance Committee bargaining unit.

Members will have additional protections when employers make arbitrary decisions about telework, and managers will have to assess telework requests individually, rather than in groups, and provide written responses, it said.

The union said the tentative agreement also addressed its claim to seniority rights in the event of layoffs. Additionally, employees who are able to perform work performed by hired contractors do not lose their jobs when layoffs occur.

Fortier said negotiations with tax agency staff are continuing.

“They’re still at the table as we talk and we look forward to seeing how that plays out,” she said.

Public servants staged picket lines across the country for more than a dozen days in one of the largest strike actions in Canadian history, the union said.

Service disruptions during the strike have been severe, ranging from slowdowns at the border to suspensions of new employment insurance, immigration and passport applications.

Initial talks on a new collective agreement initially began in June 2021, with the union declaring a deadlock in May 2022, after both sides filed labor complaints. (Associated Press)

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