OTTAWA, Canada, April 21 ------ A third of Canada's public servants set up pickets at hundreds of sites across the country Wednesday demanding cost-of-living raises and telework flexibility in one of the largest strikes in the nation's history.
After months of negotiating with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said it had failed to reach a deal by the deadline it had set for late Tuesday.
More than 155,000 public servants went on what their union termed a "historic strike," hitting picket lines at more than 250 locations across the country, blowing whistles and waving placards that read "Support the public service" and "Stop outsourcing."
"It's no secret that life is expensive and it's important that wages reflect the value of our work," said Pierre, a 32-year-old government worker in Montreal who declined to give his last name. "The public service is part of the collective wealth and it must not be allowed to deteriorate," he said. On the same picket line, Crystal Warner said the government's wage offers were "offensive."
She noted that it is the largest employer in the country and that its labor decisions often ripple through the economy, adding: "We are out here fighting not just for our own members, but for workers everywhere in Canada."
The strikers, PSAC president Chris Aylward told crowds in Ottawa, "are going to stay out here for as long as it takes to get a fair deal."
Source: mb.com
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