After tens of thousands of federal workers walk off the job, Trudeau calls for more negotiations
CBC
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the union representing federal public servants to get back to the bargaining table and hash out a deal with management to avoid serious service disruptions.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting Wednesday, Trudeau said the government tabled an offer Monday but the union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), hasn't responded to it.
PSAC announced late Tuesday that more than 150,000 workers would walk off the job after it failed to reach a deal with Ottawa on a new collective agreement.
"Obviously, Canadians have a right and deserve to get the services that they need from the federal government," Trudeau said.
"That's why we need both management and labour to get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible to continue to make progress.
"Right now, they need to get back to the table because they haven't been over the past number of hours."
PSAC national president Chris Aylward said Wednesday the union is "ready to reach a fair deal as soon as the government is ready to come to the table with a fair offer."
WATCH: 'We are at the negotiating table:' Trudeau on first PSAC strike day
At issue in this dispute is pay and other workplace issues.
PSAC is demanding a 13.5 per cent pay increase over three years (4.5 per cent annually). The Treasury Board Secretariat, the government department that is nominally the employer of bureaucrats, has offered nine per cent over three years.
PSAC also wants more flexibility in the rules on working from home. The government has demanded that public servants return to in-person work for a few days a week after years of COVID-related virtual work. That hasn't gone over well with public sector unions.
Families Minister Karina Gould, the minister responsible for the passport program, said the job action will result in delays to services Canadians rely on to travel.
She said that with many passport workers now on the picket line, Passport Canada will only be able to process "humanitarian" applications and a select number of "urgent" applications.
"If job action wraps up quickly, it won't have a big impact. If it goes for quite some significant time, then it will," she said. "If it's a couple of days or maybe a week, people will experience delays."
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