Do public servants really want to fight over four days at the office? | Opinion |
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Do public servants really want to fight over four days at the office? | Opinion
Mohammed Adam: A strike in the middle of the tax season will likely undermine any public goodwill.
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As Canadians prepare to file their 2025 taxes, the air is rumbling with threats of a strike by public servants that could disrupt the tax season for millions of people, and potentially damage relations with the public.
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The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and the Professional Institute of the Public Service (PIPSC) have hinted at a strike over the federal government’s order requiring public servants to return to the office four days a week, beginning July 6. But more worrying is the breakdown of talks between the Canada Revenue Agency and the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE), which represents more than 35,000 CRA employees. Ominously, the union has warned that all options, including job action, are on the table. That raises the stakes.
The personal tax return deadline is April 30, and if 35,000 taxation employees walk off the job, it will create such a big hole at CRA that the agency can barely function. Looking ahead, you may be well advised to file early to avoid the chaos that may likely occur.
The trouble began with PSAC declaring an impasse in negotiations with the Treasury Board, which triggers a series of processes that could lead to a strike vote and job action. And with UTE joining the fray, and other unions contemplating similar action, a strike appears unavoidable.
The most important issue at the heart of it all is the federal government’s return-to-office order. Public service unions, already opposed to the government’s initial demand that workers go back to the office three days a week, are apoplectic at being forced back four days a week without consultation. Federal workers see remote work as a right and don’t believe the government can make such unilateral decisions. They are adamant that remote work, that is, the right to work from home, be enshrined in the collective bargaining agreement. But the feds won’t budge, arguing the employer has the right dictate where employees work. The dispute has become something like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable force, and the public is left to pick up the pieces, if any. It is not exactly clear when a strike would be called because no union has actually held a strike vote. But union leaders are leaving no doubt that this is where we are heading.
Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service (PIPSC) warned he could “definitely see a strike vote on remote work.” On top of that is the PSAC-UTE warning that “No action is off the table,” and put together, we could be back to 2023, when CRA employees went on a 15-day day strike that caused delays and disruptions.
Union president warns strike vote on remote work 'definitely' in the cards
What you need to know about the public service return-to-office mandate
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The threat of strikes comes at a time of rising tension over the federal government’s plan to shrink the public service by up to 40,000 jobs. With the unions already smarting from job cut notices which have gone to more than 24,000 employees, order seems like adding insult to injury. The unions see it as a red line that has been crossed, and they are not in a forgiving mood, with the livelihoods of their members under threat.
But, is going back to the office four days a week the hill public servants want to die on, considering many private-sector workers, as well as Ontario and City of Ottawa workers, have gone back to the office full-time – five days a week. And they haven’t made such a stink of it. The difference of course is that federal employees view the work mandate as an assault on their rights, and they intend to defend them, if necessary, with a strike. However, a strike in the middle of the tax season, with all the accompanying inconvenience, is likely to sour the public mood and undermine public goodwill. The next few weeks will tell if the unions are making the right choice.
In the meantime, you out there should be planning for a winter of discontent, and perhaps beyond.
Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. Reach him at nylamiles48@gmail.com
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