Quebec PSAC strike: Workers feel 'left in the dust' on day 6 of demos

Federal worker strikes continued Monday in Quebec as public sector workers held picket lines all over the country amid stalled contract negotiations.

In one of the largest strikes in Canada history, government workers walked off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, hitting the picket lines at some 250 locations across Canada. Now in their second week of demonstrations, federal employees with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are asking for wage increases to combat the rising cost of living.

On Monday, workers demonstrated at several locations in the Montreal area, including Service Canada and the Longue Pointe military base.

“We’ve been left in the dust,” said Paul Grenier, a union member and national defence supervisor, during the Longue Pointe demo.

“I haven’t slept well in the last week. Not knowing each day if I’m going into work or I’m coming out here,” he said. “We’re public servants. We’re serving the public. It’s a matter of having that respect brought back to us.”

PSAC says about 100,000 of its members are on strike, which is expected to cause slowdowns and disruptions with all government services, including passport and immigration applications, tax returns and new employment insurance applications.

“We made some progress in the end, but we’re not there yet,” wrote union president Chris Aylward in a letter to members on Sunday.

Aylward said Ottawa presented an offer Saturday afternoon, which the union countered with its own proposal that same day.

However, the office of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier says it made a second proposal Saturday that the union had not responded to by late Sunday.

Chris Aylward, PSAC National President, speaks to reporters at a news conference on the status of negotiations with Treasury Board, as workers from Canada's largest federal public-service union are on strike across the country, in Ottawa, on Saturday, April 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Earlier this weekend, the two sides accused each other of poor communication as bargaining teams sort out how much to increase wages to account for inflation and whether civil servants have a right to work remotely.

Aylward also wrote he’s hopeful the union will get a “fair deal in the coming days.”

Last week, the Treasury Board said the majority of full-time federal workers in four bargaining units, which make up 120,000 employees, earn between $50,000 and $75,000. About three per cent earn less than $50,000. The union is asking for a 13.5 per cent raise over three years. 

With files from CTV News Montreal's Scott Prouse and The Canadian Press