Latest updates: Deal reached between feds, union for 120,000 striking public servants

Very early Monday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced it had reached a “tentative” agreement with the federal government for the 120,000 picketing Treasury Board workers who, since April 19, had been engaged in one of the largest strikes in Canadian history.

While a deal has been reached for the striking employees in the education and library; program and administrative; operational service; and technical service bargaining units in Canada’s core public service, 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers remain on the picket line.

The agreement comes after Treasury Board President Mona Fortier put what she said was a “final” offer on the table over the weekend. We’ll be learning more about the deal as the day unfolds and providing live updates from Parliament Hill, below.

8:45 A.M. ET: TREASURY BOARD CONFIRMS DEAL

Confirming the tentative agreement, the Treasury Board of Canada said, once ratified, finding satisfactory common ground at the bargaining table was many long hours in the making.

The federal government said the agreed-to wage offer was 11.5 per cent over four years, retroactive to 2021. This wage offer is a departure from the nine per cent over three years that the government left on the table for most of the strike, and not as high as the 13.5 per cent wage demand PSAC came to the table with.

Treasury Board said that they will also offer these workers a “group-specific allowance of 0.5 per cent” in the third year of the deal, as well as a one-time payment of $2,500.

“These agreements address all key priorities put forward by the PSAC. In addition, they include improved provisions, around leave with pay for family-related responsibilities for example. They also include measures to further support employment equity, diversity, and inclusion, such as a new benefit for Indigenous employees who will now have access to paid leave to participate in traditional practices,” reads the government’s release.

As for remote work, the federal government says it remains committed to a hybrid model that will see public servants coming into the office at least a few times a week, but outside of the collective agreements they have “reached a tentative settlement on telework to the satisfaction of both parties.”

The deal seems to be that the federal government will review its telework directive and set up departmental panels to advise senior management on employee concerns.

Saying she was “pleased” to reach this outcome, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said she appreciated Canadians’ patience over the past two weeks as workers exercised their right to strike.

“We are deeply grateful for public servants who work hard across the country to serve Canadians and look forward to welcoming them back. These deals are fair, competitive, and reasonable, and bring stability to public servants and Canadians,” Fortier said. She’ll be holding a press conference at 12:30 p.m. ET.

You can read the federal government’s full statement, here.

1:30 A.M. ET: PSAC SAYS TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED

In the very early hours of May 1, PSAC issued a statement announcing that, after nearly two years of bargaining, a tentative agreement had been reached for the 120,000 core public servants who were on strike.

With the strike over, workers had to be back on the job as of 9 a.m. ET, or their next scheduled shift.

PSAC said the agreement “secured a fair contract for members that exceeds the employers original offer” and “significant new protections around remote work.”

“During a period of record-high inflation and soaring corporate profits, workers were told to accept less – but our members came together and fought for better,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president in Monday’s statement. “This agreement delivers important gains for our members that will set the bar for all workers in Canada.”

Here is some additional information and figures put out by the union about the tentative deal:

• 
  Wage increases totalling 12.6 per cent “compounded” over the life of the agreement from 2021-2024;
• 
  A pensionable $2,500 one-time lump sum payment that represents an additional 3.7 per cent of salary for the average PSAC member;
• 
  Negotiated language that requires managers to assess remote work requests individually, and provide written responses for accountability;
• 
  Negotiated language to ensure that, in the event of layoffs, PSAC members will not lose their job if they can perform the duties of an already-employed contractor;
• 
  Creation of joint union-employer departmental panels to address issues related to the application of the remote work directive; and
• 
  Creation of a joint committee to review the existing training courses related to employment equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The union says it’ll be providing members a “full explanation” of the new deal and concrete language “in the coming days,” before the 120,000 affected public servants will be invited to participate in ratification votes.

You can read the union’s full statement, here.