Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Strike Mandate and our AJC members

As many of you already know, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) may soon be going on strike.  The decision to strike is never easy, and the AJC stands in solidarity with our Bargaining Agent (BA) Colleague.

The PSAC, who represents more than 120,000 federal public servants across Canada, has voted in favour of a strike mandate and it is now in a legal strike position. Many of our members have questions on what they can do to support PSAC members.

Showing Support for Colleagues on Strike

In the event of a strike there are many ways in which you may consider showing your support for colleagues who are on strike. These include:

1. Learning about the issues that your colleagues are striking for on PSAC’s website, and sharing information about the strike with friends and family,
2. Following the PSAC’s social media platforms, and sharing or retweeting their messages from your personal accounts,
3. Using PSAC’s strike hashtag, or using their social media frames on your profile pictures,
4. Sending a letter to the Member of Parliament (MP) in your riding,
5. Attending an organized solidarity rally outside of your work hours to walk with colleagues on the picket line,
6. Signing a petition supporting your striking colleagues,
7. Sending a donation or bringing non-perishable food and groceries to the picket line for striking workers and their families, or
8. Honking your horn with a friendly beep if you drive by a picket line for encouragement.

 Non-Bargaining Unit Work and the Picket Line

While the AJC encourages you to be supportive of your striking colleagues, it is important to remember that the AJC is not currently in a strike position, and you must abide by the terms and conditions of the LP Collective Agreement, and report to work as scheduled.

If a picket line blocks access to your office building, call your supervisor or another management representative to request safe passage through the picket line, or to request that you be permitted to work remotely during the strike.

If your management team asks you to perform the work of a colleague on strike, we encourage you to raise concerns that the work is outside of your job description and/or bargaining unit work, preferably in writing.   You may also inquire about whether any essential services agreement concluded with the striking bargaining agent may assist the Employer in assigning essential work.  If a manager insists that you perform newly assigned work, you should comply in conformity with the ”work now, grieve later” principle.

If you are asked to perform duties outside of your job description and/or the LP bargaining unit description, please report this to a member of the AJC Governing Council or fill out the intake form on our website so that we can document these occurrences and consider ways of ensuring that the Employer respects labour laws, the collective agreement, the parameters of what constitutes LP bargaining unit work and any essential services agreement the Employer would have concluded with the striking bargaining agent.