120,000 Canadian Federal Workers to Hold Nationwide Strike Votes

The Public Service Alliance of Canada announced that 120,000 federal public servants will hold nationwide strike votes from November 16 to January 22. The move follows the collapse of contract negotiations with the Treasury Board that lasted 18 months. Affected employees include wildland firefighters, fishery officers, federal teachers, librarians, and passport and benefit officers.

The union claims the government refused to negotiate on job security, remote work, and protections against artificial intelligence. PSAC characterized the government's wage offer of less than one percent per year as "insulting." National President Sharon DeSousa stated that while a strike remains a last resort, the government has left the union no other choice.

This labor tension coincides with a 2025 budget plan to reduce the public service by 10 percent by the 2028-29 fiscal year. Additionally, the government is spending over $18 million to reconfigure office space to support a mandate requiring most staff to be on-site four days a week. Treasury Board Secretary Bill Matthews described the in-office requirement as a "philosophical choice."

The potential action follows a 2023 strike involving 155,000 workers that secured a 12.6 percent wage increase. Separately, PSAC-represented security guards at the Bank of Canada have been on strike since late June over budget cuts and scheduling rights.