Our PA bargaining team last met with Treasury Board on January 21–22, with the employer refusing to discuss most of our key proposals. After last week’s announcement of changes to work conditions while we are in bargaining, our PA team has made the decision to declare impasse as the employer refuses to bargain in good faith.
Declaring an impasse triggers the next step in the collective bargaining process. In this case, it means that PSAC has requested a conciliation process from the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB).
The employer’s refusal to discuss our reasonable demands plainly displays their disrespect towards workers’ protected bargaining rights. The decision to reach impasse comes after repeated behaviour from the employer demonstrating an unwillingness to bargain in good faith.
In the last negotiation session, our PA bargaining team preemptively reminded the employer that remote work is a priority for members, and that no changes are to be made to current terms and conditions of employment while we are in negotiation. The bargaining table is the perfect forum to have those important discussions.
Without any prior consultations, last week, the federal government announced a new in-office mandate, requiring all federal public service workers to be in-office four days a week as of July 6, 2026.
The government’s announcement exposes an increasingly alarming bargaining position — one where the employer flatly refuses to engage on foundational issues such as job security, remote work, service levels, discrimination, harassment and abuse of authority, technological change, and the expanding use of artificial intelligence and surveillance.
While over 10,000 PSAC members were receiving workforce adjustment notices over the last month — thousands within the PA group — the employer also refused to discuss the workforce adjustment process at the table.
Employer changes working conditions during freeze
It is insulting for any employer, let alone the government, to change the conditions of work while its workers are in negotiations. Changing the Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace in the middle of ongoing negotiations is clear grounds for legal action, and we made good on this promise.
In response to this breach of trust, PSAC filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the FPSLREB. We filed a freeze complaint: an action that can be taken when an employer unilaterally changes terms and conditions of work while the parties are in bargaining.
Workers are serious about defending their constitutionally protected bargaining rights. The decision to declare impasse was not made lightly, but it’s clear that it is necessary.
The employer must commit to bargaining in good faith on all priorities of the PA group. We hope to get back to negotiations as soon as possible. In the meantime, all options are on the table.
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This article was first published on the PSAC website.
