Striking public servants plan giant rally on Parliament Hill as talks grind 'to a halt'

Striking public servants are consolidating their picketing efforts on Parliament Hill Wednesday as job action reaches its eighth straight day.

Striking public servants are consolidating their picketing efforts on Parliament Hill Wednesday as their union says talks with the federal government have "ground to a halt."

More than 150,000 workers with the Public Service Alliance of Canada are on strike for an eighth straight day as union representatives negotiate with the government for a bigger wage increase and more flexibility to work remotely.

A PSAC email to members Tuesday night said the government "has dug in on their position, and has shown no movement on our key issues, especially wages and remote work."

"They think they can wait you out - they're testing you, and they think you're going to give up," the email said. "But we're going to keep holding the line and fighting for better."

Workers have been picketing in several locations across Ottawa and Gatineau, including Tunney's Pasture and Treasury Board President Mona Fortier's office on Montreal Road. But Wednesday will be a different story, with public servants being told to gather on Parliament Hill.

Alex Silas, PSAC's regional executive vice-president for the National Capital Region, said the union is calling on all members and its allies across the labour movement to join them on the Hill on Wednesday.

"It is high time that this government understand that workers in the federal public service deserve fair wages that keep up with the cost of living; that all workers deserve fair wages that keep up with the cost of living," he said in a video on Twitter.