Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Federal Government have decidedly reached an agreement.
The strike began on 19th April. PSAC has provided its members until 9 AM Eastern Time this morning, or until the last of their next ongoing shift, to get back to work.
The provisional deal, as per the PSAC, the union that highlights the federal workers who were on this strike, has benefitting measures for its members, along with the greater wages that will reduce the wage gap with inflation and new and improved language relating to working from home.
As services resume functioning at their limit, the IRCC cautions that “there may still be some service impacts over the coming days and weeks…To keep you informed about how services are affected during the labor interruption, we will keep monitoring this website.
During the strike, IRCC issued indications that interruptions were anticipated in a number of areas, including:
- Contacting the IRCC by email, phone, or social media for consular citizenship and passport services
- scheduling in-person meetings or occasions, such as citizenship ceremonies
- Canadian passport services
- Grants and contributions services are under request through the Access to Information Act.
You could possibly file an online application to the IRCC for an increase in your stay while on strike.
Furthermore, the IRCC conducted its normal Express Entry lottery last Wednesday and allowed an extra 3,500 registrants to submit applications for permanent residency notwithstanding the strike.
There were additional delays in the collection of biometrics and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), according to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Employers who intend to engage temporary foreign workers must submit Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs), which are the responsibility of ESDC. Many Canadian employers rely on the TFWP to supply crucial job openings in high-demand industries as well as for seasonal workers.
Why did a strike occur?
Between February 22 and April 11, PSAC organized nationwide strike elections. After additional negotiations failed to culminate in an agreement, PSAC members decided to strike on April 19 at 12:01 a.m.
The labor organization said that by generating more jobs instead of outsourcing labor to for-profit businesses, it might be able to accomplish its goals of equal pay, a better work-life balance, higher workplace diversity, and fewer layoffs.
Union members’ desire to carry on working remotely, as they had done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, was one of the “deal breakers.” According to PSAC, public sector employees are just as productive working from home as they are in the office, and 90% of employees want to keep working from home.
Although on strike, remote staff members had to agree to proceed to the picket line.
The demands, according to the government, would have a significant negative impact on the provision of services to Canadians and would make it more difficult for it to manage personnel inside the public service.
In light of the elevated cost of living in Canada right now, the Union was also requesting increased compensation for its members.
