A few hundred people rallied in front of Windsor City Hall in support of striking Public Service Alliance of Canada workers on Day 7 of the labour dispute.
The Windsor and District Labour Council organized the Tuesday rally as a show of solidarity for the more than 150,000 federal public servants with the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
Mario Spagnuolo, Interim president of the Windsor and District Labour Council, says they are standing with them because any time workers are on strike, it's difficult and financially difficult.
"To let them know that their community is behind them because sometimes people question, 'are we doing the right thing?' I think as workers it's incumbent upon us and as a labour council to say 'you are doing the right thing and you're not just fighting for yourself, you're fighting for people around you,'" he says.
The major sticking points in negotiations with the federal government include wages, remote work and concerns among public servants about an increase in the government's use of outside contractors.
The two parties have been at odds for the last two years since negotiations began in June 2021, but more than 100,000 public servants officially walked off the job on April 19.
Several hundred people listen to speeches delivered outside Windsor City Hall at a rally in support of striking workers with the Public Service Alliance of Canada. April 25, 2023. (Photo by Rusty Thomson)
Spagnuolo workers are not being compensated fairly.
"Inflation is through the roof and yet wages are not keeping up. So everyday that goes by, workers are falling further and further behind. Yet the one per cent at the top seem to be doing very well taking care of themselves yet not taking care of the people that got them there," he says.
Spagnuolo says wages should stay up with inflation.
"Every worker that's working out there, unionized or non-unionized, should be able to feed their family and not worry about making ends meet. What's happening in Canada is that our standard of living is decreasing because of this, because of inflation, it's a real issue," he adds.
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said Monday that the federal government is open to a joint review of its return-to-office orders for federal civil servants, an offer made in an open letter to public servants.
She said agreement has been reached on most of 540 demands made by the union but there are some big issues outstanding, including wages and the return-to-work directive issued just before Christmas.
Fortier said the government has proposed to jointly review that directive with the union to find a compromise that is fair to employees but also ensures the government can deliver on its services to Canadians.
The government is also offering a nine per cent wage increase over three years, less than the 13.5 per cent increase the union wants.
Fortier says the offer is fair and competitive and warns that if the union continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable it would impact Canadians.