Government tables new offer in PSAC negotiations

The federal government has tabled a new offer at the negotiating table with Canada's largest public sector union as workers strike for a 10th day.

A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Mona Fortier called the offer "comprehensive" on Friday afternoon. They did not say whether the offer included a higher wage increase than the government's previous offer of nine per cent over three years.

Wages and remote work have been the key sticking points between the government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Public servants from PSAC bargaining units representing 155,000 members have been on strike since last week.

In a statement, PSAC confirmed they received the offer but expected negotiations to continue into the weekend.

"We hope to continue bargaining this weekend in order to reach a fair deal for our 120,000 federal public service members," the statement said. "Talks are also ongoing for our 35,000 members at Canada Revenue Agency."

The statement said PSAC would not provide any details or schedule any interviews until further notice.

• Download our app to get alerts to your device
• Get the latest newsletters right to your inbox

On Wednesday, PSAC national president Chris Aylward said the union had moved off its initial wage demand of a 13.5 per cent increase over three years, but the government was refusing to budge from its offer of nine per cent.

Fortier countered by saying PSAC's demands were unreasonable and unaffordable.

Striking public servants have been escalating strike action as negotiations continue. In the national capital region on Thursday, picketers limited access to federal buildings and temporarily disrupting traffic on an interprovincial bridge.

They were out in full force again on Friday, with large crowds gathered on both the Ottawa and Gatineau sides of the river.

Earlier this week Aylward said he wanted Trudeau to get directly involved in the negotiations. Trudeau, who was in New York City this week for a trade trip, said Friday he is involved.

"I have been directly and intimately involved in the negotiations, in hearing about what discussions are going on," he said, responding to a question from a reporter at a news conference.

"I have deep faith in collective bargaining as a process," Trudeau said. "We know that our negotiators are putting forward serious offers."

PSAC's main bargaining unit has been without a contract for two years. The government's current wage offer would be backdated to 2021, with a 1.5 per cent increase that year, followed by 4.5 per cent raise in 2022 and another of three per cent in 2023.

The union initially asked for 13.5 per cent over the same time frame and while it says it has adjusted that ask, it has not said what the new request is.

In a tweet Friday morning, PSAC said it wants a raise that keeps up with inflation and insists the public sector hasn't received a raise in line with inflation in more than 15 years.

A majority of the PSAC workers were directed to work from home in March 2020 when COVID-19 began, and only a limited number had returned to in-person work in the years since. In December, Fortier issued a new directive requiring all workers to be in the office at least two days a week, but the government's unions pushed back, calling the directive unfair.

They want a policy on remote work included in their contracts.

Fortier said in an open letter earlier this week that she was offering to do a joint review of the telework policy with the unions.

Jennifer Carr, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada union, said that is a good start but it's not good enough.

"We need a binding commitment in a collective agreement, because we have seen too many instances where the employer has abandoned its promises or ignored the process after signing a memorandum of understanding with us," she said.

Carr said the government's consultation on the return-to-office directive was "abysmal" and didn't listen to the government's own advisers.

- with files from The Canadian Press