Thousands of federal public servants across country begin strike
CBC
More than 155,000 federal public servants are on strike after the federal government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) failed to reach a deal before a Tuesday evening deadline.
The announcement came after two bargaining groups representing a significant part of the government workforce entered a legal strike position last week.
The national PSAC president announced at a Tuesday evening news conference the strike would begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday.
"We are still a ways apart, but we're staying at the table because we're still hopeful and our goal is still to get to a tentative agreement," said Chris Aylward.
"Our members are prepared to fight for a good, decent, fair collective agreement."
Picket lines will be set up at more than 250 locations across the country Wednesday morning, PSAC said in a Tuesday news release.
Eight are planned across Ottawa-Gatineau, where the federal government is the biggest employer.
Aylward said he would not disclose details of what is being discussed at the bargaining table, but said the union will remain on strike until its key issues are addressed.
In a news release Tuesday night, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said it has "done everything it can" to reach a deal.
"The government has presented a fair, competitive offer to the PSAC and responded to all their demands," it said.
"Even though there is a competitive deal on the table, the PSAC continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable and would severely impact the government's ability to deliver services to Canadians."
The federal government also released a series of backgrounders after the strike announcement Tuesday, including one outlining its bargaining position.
More than 120,000 employees under PSAC entered a legal strike position last Wednesday and about 39,000 more joined them last Friday, bringing the total number of federal public servants represented by PSAC with a strike mandate to more than 155,000.
The first group, labelled the Treasury Board group by PSAC, includes workers spread across more than 20 departments and agencies.