MONTREAL: A massive strike by civil servants in Canada was set to largely end on Monday after the Canadian government reached a deal to enhance the wages of over 120,000 workers, the union representing the workers announced.
A major portion almost one-third of the country’s public workers, around 155,000 in number, started their protest on April 19, hitting picket lines at hundreds of locations across the country with demands for an increase in cost-of-living and telework flexibility.
The strike caused major delays in public services, including processing passport and immigration process.
“After nearly two years of talks leading to one of the largest strikes in the history of Canada, PSAC has reached tentative agreements for over 120,000 Treasury Board workers who deliver crucial services to the country,” stated by Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Civil Servants Happy over the Deal
It further said it had won a 12.6 percent wage raise over the four-year contract period (2021-2024), slightly below its desired raise of 13.5 percent but above the nine percent increase proposed by the Canadian government.
On the sticking point of teleworking, which several employees were accustomed to during the covid-19 pandemic, PSAC stated it had secured “significant new protections.”
It further stated that new “language in a letter of agreement” would need managers to assess remote work requests purely on an individual basis and not by group.
The current agreement, however does not cover the 35,000 members of Canada’s tax agency, who would continue to strike.
