The Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec Region (PSAC-Quebec), organized a rally during the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) National Convention on Saturday. Hundreds turned up to denounce public service cuts, the four days in-office mandate and the collective bargaining impasses.
Sébastien Paquette, Executive Vice-President for PSAC-Quebec, had this to say about the rally:
- We sent a strong message to LPC delegates: we won’t stand for indiscriminate cuts to federal public services. It’s not too late to reverse the trend and stop the 40,000 job cuts planned over the next three years.
- The effects are already being felt. We are deeply concerned about our ability to provide the public the services it needs, to conduct agri-food research into advancing our food sovereignty and to carry out inspections to ensure our food supply is safe.
- There are other ways to save money. Remote work is one.
- The return-to-office mandate is simply unacceptable. Instead of capitulating to the business lobby, the employer should negotiate remote work arrangements.
- In addition, bringing thousands of public service workers back on-site will create an office space crunch. There clearly won’t be enough suitable space for everyone.
- Bargaining is stalled. Three PSAC bargaining teams representing more than 100,000 members recently declared impasse. The first stage of pressure tactics is about to get underway.
In recent weeks, PSAC filed a complaint on the new in-office mandate, and the bargaining teams for the PA and EB groups and the CRA declared impasse.
PSAC has also created a dashboard to track the impact of workforce adjustments. To date, over 13,000 PSAC members have received workforce adjustment notices—including more than 1,000 in Quebec.
Lastly, PSAC‑Quebec has taken position on remote work and raised concerns about the closure of the agriculture research centre in Quebec City.