P.E.I. tax centre union considering strike
Last-ditch negotiations scheduled
Canada Revenue Agency workers could be on strike at any time unless progress is made in negotations.
Marc Brière is the national president of the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) which is part of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
Brière said the union has been without a contract since January 2021 and is fed up with the lack of progress.
A strike would impact about 1,200 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees in Summerside and another 170 in Charlottetown.
Brière said he expected strong support during a recent strike vote.
“I can tell you, it has been a tidal wave of support,” he said. “People are tired of waiting years to get a new contract.”
The two main issues are wages and tele-work, said Brière.
To open, UTE tabled an offer with wage adjustments of 4.5 per cent retroactive to November 2021 followed by two increases of eight per cent. The request is to keep up with inflation.
The CRA has not yet made a counteroffer, which Brière said he finds unacceptable and, “downright insulting,” as other unions in the PSAC umbrella have received two counteroffers in the same time period.
Brière's members are also looking to continue to work from home.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic sent workers out of busy office buildings, close to 95 per cent of CRA staff have been working remotely.
In early April, employees were asked to return to the office for 40 per cent of their workweek, which Brière said isn't sitting well.
“Our members during the pandemic have been more than capable of working from a distance,” he said.
“It's just very efficient. … our members prefer it.”
MEDIATION PENDING
The UTE is one of several unions under the PSAC umbrella and all are negotiating new collective agreements at this time.
Four PSAC unions were set to start mediations on April 11, but the UTE was scheduled to hold mediations from April 17-20, because that's when their mediator is available.
Brière said he will wait and see how negotiations go with the other unions before deciding whether to call a strike.
The union entered a legal strike position on April 14.
As of noon, April 17 no such strike call had been made.
CRA's website said it will respect the union's decision to strike, but it remains committed to negotiation.
"The CRA is committed to doing everything it can to resolve this labour dispute, to resume negotiations and to continue to bargain in good faith and make every reasonable effort to reach an agreement at the bargaining table that is both fair to employees and reasonable for taxpayers," it said in an April 7 statement.