WORLD NEWS | Canadian union says federal workers will strike

OTTAWA, Ont., April 19 (AP) — Canada’s largest federal public service union said Tuesday that about 155,000 workers will go on strike after talks with the federal government failed to reach a deal by a deadline.

The strike includes 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers as tax returns are due.

Read also | Indian students have reportedly been turned away from five Australian universities for fake visas.

Wage growth is the main concern.

The federal government’s treasury committee issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying it was proposing to unions on Sunday a 9 per cent wage increase over three years, based on advice from a third-party public interest committee.

Read also | Accenture layoffs: Tech layoffs intensify as IT firm announces 19,000 layoffs, delays fresh graduate hiring; top five.

But the union has pushed for wage increases of 4.5 per cent a year for the next three years, arguing that wage increases are necessary to keep pace with inflation. It also retains issues of more restrictions on contract work, more anti-racism training and remote work rules.

Mediation contract negotiations between the Canadian Public Service Federation and the government began in early April and continued into the weekend in what the union said was the government’s last chance to reach a deal. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)