Public-service workers on strike in Portage

Federal public-service workers in Portage la Prairie are holding signs demanding fair wages on the east side of the city.

The group began picketing in front of the Services Canada building in Portage at 8 a.m. after the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced a national general strike at 12:01 a.m. David Neufeld, national president for the Union of Safety and Justice Employees (USJE), says they will continue to strike until they receive a fair deal from the Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

"We've been in negotiations now for approximately two years," explains Neufeld. "The government through the Treasury Board has not been coming to the table to negotiate fair wages or offer a contract. Our members are frustrated, they've waited a long time to get a fair deal."

David Neufeld.

He adds that members have been struggling, like every other Canadian, through the economic conditions, due to extremely high inflation rates. Neufeld says that PSAC will remain at the negotiation table for as long as they can to make a deal happen. They've been meeting in Ottawa for the last week trying to get a deal finalized.

"At this point, we have approximately 120,000 members right now all out on strike," notes Neufeld. "There are about 35,000 members that are currently working at various sites across the country, whether it's at borders, passports and immigration, detachments with the RCMP, or federal correctional institutions. We have people right across this country that continue to help deliver services, but it's easy to say that the strike is going to have a major slowdown and effect on Canadians across this country."

As those on strike continue to picket, they hope that you'll show support, whether it's by going on social media, or by just simply honking your horn as you drive by them.

"We just want to let Canadians know that we continue to be here for you," says Neufeld. "We take great pride in being public-service employees and we hope that this strike can end very soon."