Travel plans, your tax return: What you need to worry about as federal workers take strike votes

OTTAWA-After a year in which pandemic-induced staffing shortages hammered a bevy of government services, Canadians could face more delays in the form of one of the largest public service strikes in the country's history.

Ottawa is preparing for - or already engaged in - collective agreement talks concerning hundreds of thousands of public servants, setting the stage for impasses over wage hikes, remote work and the potential for a huge chunk of workers to walk off the job.

Amid the high cost of living and departmental edicts compelling workers to return to the office, public sector unions are turning to a Liberal government grappling with spending constraints to demand more.

Administrative staff, workers processing tax returns and RCMP officers are among the wide range of workers captured under the various negotiations.

But is a general strike truly on the horizon? And what are the political implications if talks turn sour?

Here's what you need to know.

What do public servants want?

The most contentious battle Ottawa is contending with concerns 120,000 public servants in four of the Public Service Alliance of Canada's (PSAC) bargaining units.

In January, PSAC announced its plan to pursue strike votes after the union and the Treasury Board went head-to-head over a series of demands, including a wage increase of 4.5 per cent per year over three years.

The government responded with an offer of 8.5 per cent over four years - a proposal PSAC deemed insulting" and out of touch with the soaring cost of living." PSAC is also seeking protections around remote work, more inclusive anti-racism and harassment training and ending the contracting out of services.

Strike votes have also been launched by more than 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers represented by PSAC over wage increases and remote work concerns.

Another federal union, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), has filed a bad faith labour complaint on behalf of 14,000 CRA workers over stalled talks on working from home. (The CRA says it remains committed to reaching a fair agreement, while both PSAC and Treasury Board have launched complaints of their own.)

Not all negotiations are similarly charged, however, and not all of them are hashed out in public.

For example, the National Police Federation, which represents nearly 20,000 RCMP members, told the Star it is currently in bargaining with the Treasury Board, but would not publicly comment on the state of those discussions.

What does the federal government say?

As of last week, both PSAC and Ottawa had agreed to resume negotiations.

But Treasury Board has voiced its disappointment" over the union's decision to call for strike votes, citing a Public Interest Commission report that says there are many areas of potential compromise."

The government's position is clear. We are committed to reaching agreements with all bargaining agents that are fair to employees and reasonable for taxpayers," a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said.

Fortier has also argued that where public servants carry out their jobs is the right of the employer, not something that should be raised at the bargaining table. In December, the government ruled that public servants must work at least two to three days a week in person, starting at the end of March.

Will there really be a strike? And how will it affect me?

PSAC's decision to pursue strike votes - which will start Feb. 22 and end in April - doesn't necessarily mean 120,000 workers will walk off the job. If the union gets a strike mandate from its members, it'll use the threat of job action to put pressure on the government to meet its demands. If talks stall, then several options are on the table, like rotating strikes, in which workers take part in a string of one-day walkouts, or a full-blown general strike, which would see all workers walk out.

Because of the size and scope of PSAC's membership, any job action will have ripple effects across the country. Canada's last major public service strikes took place in 2004 and 1991 and resulted in disruptions to a number of government services.

This time will be no different, said PSAC national president Chris Aylward.

You're definitely going to see slowdowns at border crossings, at airports. At any kind of transportation, there's going to be slowdowns," he told the Star.

Then, of course, there's the social programs. Unfortunately, Veterans Affairs offices will be closed. Service Canada offices will be closed ... the impacts on Canadians will be far reaching for sure."

Complicating matters is the timing of a potential strike, which could also see thousands of CRA employees step away from their desks in the middle of tax season.

What do political parties stand to gain or lose?

A general strike would undoubtedly create a pounding political headache for the minority Liberals, who are already contending with a Canadian public fed up with pandemic delays that gummed up air travel and passport processing.

For one, it would put the labour movement at odds with a Liberal government that has signalled its support for introducing anti-scab" legislation, which would ban the use of replacement workers during a strike. Introducing such a bill by the end of 2023 is one of the priorities outlined in the governing agreement struck by both the Liberals and the New Democrats last year.

All of this comes at a really important, and I think, critical moment for the Liberal party and for Justin Trudeau's government," said University of Saskatchewan labour expert Charles Smith. Strikes cause uncertainty and uncertainty breeds political opportunity."

Smith said to expect the Conservatives and the NDP - both of whom are courting the working class - to paste the Liberals for their mismanagement of the situation.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who is not beloved by most federal unions due to his track record on workers' rights, can play the broken public service, things aren't working, it's all Trudeau's fault' kind of mentality," Smith said. There are members of the working class who would be receptive to that."

The NDP, on the other hand, may have to distance itself from its pact with the Liberals and remind Canadians that they're the party of working people and the organized working class," said Smith.

Raisa Patel is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @R_SPatel