Canada's largest federal public sector union says 120,000 of its members will vote on strike action after contract talks with the government broke down, The Globe and Mail reports.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada said voting would run from 16 November to 22 January. After 18 months of talks with the Treasury Board, it says the government has refused to discuss pay, job security, remote working and safeguards on artificial intelligence. In May it described a pay offer of under one per cent a year as insulting.
Those voting include wildland firefighters, passport and benefits officers, fishery officers and federal teachers. A yes vote would give the union a 60-day window to strike legally, though its president, Sharon DeSousa, called a strike a last resort. The federal workforce has shrunk by more than 23,000 over two years amid cuts and stricter office attendance rules.
Source: The Globe and Mail
