The strike amongst 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers is over, after a tentative deal was reached between the union representing CRA workers and the federal government.
This deal comes just three days after the government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) came to its own agreement and ended its strike of more than 120,000 public servants on May 1.
In a statement Thursday morning, the CRA and PSAC’s Union of Taxation Employees (PSAC-UTE) said its employees returned to work as of 11:30am ET this morning.
PSAC-UTE says the tentative deal includes wage increases totalling 12.6 per cent compounded over the life of the agreement from 2021 to 2024 with an additional fourth year that will protect workers from inflation. Furthermore, the deal includes a pensionable $2,500 one-time lump sum payment that represents an added 3.6 per cent of salary for the average member.
Outside of the collective agreement, the CRA says the two groups reached a tentative settlement on telework to the satisfaction of both parties, according to a news release Thursday.
“Both parties agreed to undertake a review of the Directive on virtual work arrangements, and to create a panel to advise the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner regarding employee concerns,” the release said.
Similar to the priorities addressed in PSAC’s agreement, CRA’s deal also includes improved provisions around leave with pay for family-related responsibilities and measures to further support employment equity, diversity, and inclusion such as a new benefit for Indigenous employees who will now have access to paid leave to participate in traditional practices.
The differentiating points which stand out in CRA’s deal is that remote work requests will be assessed individually and protected through a grievance process. Unsettled grievances can also be referred and reviewed by a new joint union-management panel in each department.
Additionally, workers have requested to start work as early as 6 a.m. if reasonable in their position, in order to improve work-life balance. In terms of vacation, workers should be able to receive four weeks vacation after seven years of service instead of eight.
The tentative agreement is expected to be approved and ratified in the coming weeks.
The CRA says it has “taken measures to resume its normal operations and to fully restore services that were affected during the labour disruption.”
CRA employees remained on strike two days past the federal tax-filing deadline of May 1.
Despite this, the CRA assured Canadians that the tax filing deadline would not be extended prior to the beginning of the strike.
