Canada’s largest union has begun a nationwide general strike after failed negotiations with the government.
Strike action began early this morning at several locations around Victoria, including at the Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt and in Colwood, near Juan De Fuca Rec Centre.
Several BC Transit buses were detoured as a result of the strike action. The impacted routes were 15 UVic/Esquimalt, 26 UVic/Dockyard and 46 Westhills/Dockyard.
The bargaining group includes nearly 155,000 federal public servants, including 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers.
#YYJ #RiderAlert – Due to a public protest in Esquimalt (Dockyard), buses are on detour. Please plan extra travel time. For most up to date information, visit 💻 https://t.co/lLVrZGDJ42 or 📞 250-382-6161. Thanks for your patience!
— BC Transit – Victoria (@victoriatransit) April 19, 2023
“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.
“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.”
Today’s strike action in the Victoria area has been set up to slow down access to military locations.
According to PSAC strike action website, several other locations were chosen for strike action today, including:
- A picket line was started at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Canadian Pension Plan and Old Age Security processing centre located at 1230 Government Street
- At 6 a.m. a picket line was set up at the Tax Service Office located at 1415 Vancouver Street
Negotiations between PSAC and Treasury Board began in June 2021, but reached impasse in May 2022.
Picket lines will be set up in more than 250 locations across the country, making it one of the largest in Canadian history.
