Cars are honking and bells are sounding in support of hundreds of public service workers currently gathered outside Richmond's Service Canada office for one of Canada's largest strike actions in history.
The general strike has more than 155,000 public service workers setting up picket lines in over 250 locations across the country.
"Since 2016, we have been overpaid, underpaid or in some cases not paid at all. And that can make it feel like we are simply volunteering when there is no pay for (our) hard work and there are mounting bills to pay," said Ingrid Lass, a Richmond resident and a Service Canada employee.
Some workers arrived at the Richmond Service Canada office at 8 a.m. and have already walked 100 laps around the building since the protest kicked off this morning.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced yesterday that almost a third of federal public service workers would start strike action at 12:01 a.m. on April 19. The union, which represents almost 230,000 workers, began negotiating with the federal government for better work conditions and fair wages in June 2021.
Workers are protesting for four key demands:
- Fair wages instead of a wage cut during record inflation
- Inclusive workplaces with mandatory training on equity, diversity and inclusion and residential schools to all federal public service workers
- Better work-life balance by including remote work provisions
- Improved job security by reducing privatization and contracting
“We truly hoped we wouldn’t be forced to take strike action, but we’ve exhausted every other avenue to reach a fair contract for Canada’s Federal Public Service workers,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president, in the strike announcement.
“Now more than ever, workers need fair wages, good working conditions and inclusive workplaces. And it’s clear the only way we’ll achieve that is by taking strike action to show the government that workers can’t wait.”
@richmond_news A protest has begun at the Richmond Service Canada office on Wednesday, Apr. 19. The Public Service Alliance of Canada is negotiating for better work conditions and fair wages for almost 230,000 public service employees across Canada. #richmondbc #publicservice #psac #protest ♬ original sound - Richmond News
Four-time victim of Phoenix pay system
Lass, who followed her father's footsteps in becoming a civil servant, told the Richmond News she was a "four-time victim" of the government's Phoenix pay system for public servants.
She first received a "relatively small" overpayment of "a few hundred dollars" in 2016.
"This was a very stressful time as a relatively new employee trying to understand how this could happen. I thought this was a one-off," Lass recalled.
Lass was proven wrong when she went on leave without pay in 2019 due to a medical condition and was continuously paid more than $8,000 for 10 weeks by mistake.
"As I sat on my couch unable to work and walk in my plaster cast and grieving the recent loss of a close family member, the Phoenix Pay system once again created insurmountable stress in my life because it refused to issue a record of employment," she said.
"I could not collect Employment Insurance, but I just incurred a $8,220.77 net overpayment with my employer the Federal Government of Canada who continued to pay me."
She went on to be overpaid on two more occasions in 2022, and she is currently in the process of repaying more than $4,000.
The overpayments ultimately put Lass in more debt as she had to repay deductions such as the death benefit in addition to the thousands of dollars she owed the federal government.
"This is not why I took a job with the federal government so that I would be in constant debt repayment plan to my employer," said Lass. She added that the Phoenix debacle was creating unnecessary work for understaffed compensation advisors.
The strike is expected to disrupt government services including insurance, immigration and passport applications, as well as halt the tax season. Delays at the border and interruptions to supply chains and international trade at ports may also occur.
The News has reached out to the federal government's media relations office for comment but did not hear back by the publication deadline.
