The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) on Saturday denounced the slowness of negotiations with the Treasury Board, which blamed the union.
“Our members have had enough. Our bargaining teams are tired of waiting for the employer for days,” decried PSAC National President Chris Aylward.
In a press briefing, he said he had submitted a set of proposals to the employer on Thursday evening, who had still not replied to him on Saturday afternoon.
“This speaks to the incompetence of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and her team,” Aylward said.
Some 155,000 PSAC members went on strike across the country on Wednesday. According to the union, almost a third of the federal public service has stopped work.
The Treasury Board denied the union’s claims, saying it had tried to contact it on Friday, without success. He finally managed to contact him on Saturday through a mediator and planned to present his new offer at 1 p.m. However, the Council accused the PSAC of having canceled its presence at the table at the last moment.
“While our negotiators and our offer waited, Mr. Aylward preferred to go on television to complain that he had not received the offer,” Treasury Board said in a statement.
The employer deplored the “inflexibility” of the union side, whose demands have changed little since the start of negotiations. Talks resumed on Saturday afternoon, he said.
“We’re not here to play games. We are here to get a deal. Our employees and the public they serve expect both parties to work hard at the bargaining table. There is no time or tolerance for dithering and misinformation,” Treasury Board said.
In front of the media, Chris Aylward directly challenged the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who “did nothing to move the negotiations forward”. If no agreement is reached by Sunday, workers will be back on the picket lines Monday morning.
The union is demanding bigger wage increases and improved working conditions. It also asks that its members keep the possibility of working from home.
