Global Courant 2023-04-27 20:01:00
Striking federal officials escalated actions on picket lines in the national capital region on Thursday, restricting access to federal buildings and temporarily disrupting traffic on an interprovincial bridge.
This is day 9 of the strike by 155,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, impacting the services of the Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency.
“We are escalating the actions; we are escalating the picket line positions here in NCR and across the country,” Alex Silas, PSAC regional executive vice president for the national capital region, said in a video posted to Facebook.
Silas says PSAC staff have “closed” the Tunney’s Pasture main building and that “we are monitoring access” by public service providers.
The City of Ottawa Traffic Account reported temporary disruptions in the area of the Portage Bridge, which connects Ottawa and Gatineau across the Ottawa River. City of Ottawa traffic cameras showed people marching across the bridge, as traffic stopped on both sides of the river.
In Quebec, striking federal officials staged a demonstration near the Lacolle border crossing in the Montérégie region. A few buses carrying dozens of protesters arrived at the border crossing between Lacolle, Canada, and Champlain, New York, in the United States, usually one of the busiest in the country.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada launched a strike on April 19 in support of demands for a new contract. The union accuses the federal government of delaying negotiations.
“This federal government is still inactive and not proactive at the negotiating table to get to a fair contract,” Silas said.
“It is time for this government to come back to the table with a fair offer so that we can end this strike and get back to work with fair working conditions and a fair deal.”
Earlier this week, Treasury Board Chair Mona Fortier said four key issues remain unresolved in the talks: wages, telecommuting, a ban on outsourcing and seniority during potential layoffs.
The union originally asked for a wage increase of 4.5 per cent per annum over three years, while the government recently proposed a wage increase of 9 per cent over three years.
“We’ve fallen twice on our stance. The union is actively trying to find a middle ground with this employer, the employer needs to show some willingness to find a middle ground — we haven’t seen that,” said Silas, who added prime minister. Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland should be included in the talks.
PSAC is protesting at several locations in the national capital region, including at the Treasury Board headquarters on Elgin Street, the Prime Minister’s office, the Fortier constituency office on Montreal Road and Place du Portage in Gatineau.
In a statement to members, the union is encouraging members to “think about how we continue to escalate our tactics to end the strike”.
“Many picket lines in the National Capital Region are escalating, with the march to the Portage Bridge, delayed entry to Treasury Board headquarters and the Prime Minister’s office, and marching in the streets near Stephen McKinnon’s office in Gatineau.”
With files from The Canadian Press
