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Roughly 155,000 federal employees represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada are striking over remote working arrangements and wages.

The union is seeking to maintain remote working arrangements for employees, noting the working arrangement has become a part of everyday life for many workers. “Our experience during [the coronavirus] pandemic has shown that public service workers can be as effective working remotely as they are in the office,” said the PSAC in a press release.

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“Now it’s time to look to the future by enshrining remote work protections into our collective agreements. Unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of our members’ employment and imposing a mandatory return to offices is an egregious violation of workers’ collective bargaining rights.”

The PSAC is also demanding annual raises of 4.5 per cent for the next three years to keep pace with rising inflation. The Treasury Board offered a nine per cent raise over three years on Sunday on the recommendation of the third-party public interest commission.

Last year, the government offered a roughly two per cent annual wage increase over a four-year period, accounting for increases of 1.5 per cent for 2021, three per cent for 2022, two per cent for 2023 and 1.75 per cent for 2024.

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