Canada Global (Web News) More than 35,000 employees of the Canada Revenue Agency, who have been working without a contract for more than a year, will soon vote on whether to strike during tax season, according to their union.
Negotiations broke down over pay and remote work, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of Taxation Employees (PSAC-UTE) will hold strike votes later this month.
The union announced in a news release on Tuesday that strike voting will take place between January 31 and April 7. With workers going more than a year without a contract, the union claimed in September that negotiations with the government had come to a standstill.
Between February 20 and April 30, Canadians can file their income tax and benefit return for 2022.
PSAC-UTE and the organisation will move on to Public Interest Commission hearings on January 27 and February 20 with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, the union stated. Their non-binding recommendations to achieve an agreement are anticipated this spring.
If members approve a strike mandate, PSAC-UTE claimed it will be in a legal position to strike after the commission releases its report.
“When Canadians needed us most during the pandemic, we delivered,” said Marc Brière, UTE national president, in the press announcement. “We processed over 30 million CERB applications and provided historic financial relief to millions of those hardest afflicted by COVID-19.”
But the Canada Revenue Agency has completely disregarded employees at the bargaining table, and the greatest way to increase pressure to secure a fair deal for our members is with a strong strike mandate.
