FAQ: Bank of Canada strike votes

In 2022 the parties commenced bargaining and the previous collective agreement expired in December 2021. The bargaining teams met for 33 days since February 23, 2022.

In October 2023 we filed for conciliation with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.

We continued to see no progress during conciliation and so have initiated strike votes to escalate our pressure tactics and win a fair deal for members of local 71250.

We are optimistic that the key outstanding issues in bargaining can be resolved without resorting to a strike but are preparing to undertake one as the best way to prevent a strike is to be ready for one.

The next scheduled dates for bargaining are December 19, 20, and 21, 2023.

The major sticking points for this round of bargaining include a wage increase that follows the pattern set by Treasury Board and an equitable pay structure that introduces a pay grid. Security officers at the Bank are also trying to address contracting out, working alone, and workload challenges.

Bank of Canada Security Officers have been in bargaining since February 2022 and are still fighting for a fair deal from their employer despite putting themselves at risk every day to protect and defend Bank executives, employees, and Canada’s economy.

• Other key issues include:
  
  • ISSUE: We want a wage increase that keeps up with the rising costs of food, housing, and child care — anything less is a pay cut. But the employer is proposing 2% for 2022 and 2023—two years in which inflation skyrocketed in Canada.
    
    ISSUE: We want protections against contracting out to avoid layoffs and a commitment from the employer that it is going to avoid using contractors to perform bargaining unit work.
    
  • ISSUE: We want to address the safety issues around working alone. Members shouldn’t be working alone so we want a commitment from the employer that they will address this issue. This not only makes the workplace safer for members but for everyone who works at the Bank.

The current collective agreement expired in December 2021.

The terms of these collective agreements continue to apply after they expire and until a new collective agreement is signed. However, the collective agreement is no longer in effect once a strike has been called.

Calling a strike vote is a tactic in the union’s toolbox that we can use to put additional pressure on the employer to reach a deal. A ‘yes’ vote means giving PSAC a mandate to authorize strike action as a possible escalation if the employer does not come back to the table to address our bargaining demands.

Going on strike is never our first choice and a strike vote doesn’t mean we’ll automatically call one. But securing a strong strike mandate from our membership shows we’re willing to fight and will give us the leverage we need to reach a fair and decent contract. And if we need to take job action to get the collective agreement you deserve, then that’s exactly what we’ll do.

You must attend a strike vote information session to be eligible to vote. To register, you will need your voting credentials, which will be sent to your personal, non-work email or by mail to your home address if we don’t have a personal email on file.

If you haven’t received your voting credentials from PSAC via your personal, non-work email or mail, you may need to update your contact information before you can register to vote.

The day of your session, you will receive a reminder notice to login to the session with the same link you used to register. Even if you don’t receive the email, you can still login using the registration link. When you login, the “registered” box next to the meeting of your choice will change to “join meeting.”

Remember to join at least 30 minutes before the session starts because the “doors” shut sharply at the start of the session and latecomers are not permitted to join. If you don’t see the “join meeting” box when you login, you may have to wait momentarily or refresh the page, due to high demand.

Votes can be cast online once you’ve attended an information session. Accommodations are available, if required.

If you’re attending a virtual session, you must join the session on your own, rather than as a group watching together in an office, to ensure your participation is tracked accurately and you are eligible to vote after.

All employees in the bargaining unit are eligible to vote in strike votes, even if they are currently on leave, with or without pay. This includes parental leave, long-term disability leave, and sick leave.

A successful strike vote means that a simple majority (50% + 1) of members in your bargaining unit who cast a ballot voted in favour of strike action.

We are scheduled to return to the bargaining table December 19, 20 and 21, 2023.  

If we don’t reach a deal, and we receive a strike mandate from members when voting closes on Monday December 18 at 12:00 p.m. we will be in a legal strike position. However, this does not mean we will immediately go on strike. Under the legislation, we have 60 days to call a strike following a favourable strike vote — meaning a strike could be called anytime between January 9 – February 16, 2024.

The Regional Strategy Coordinating Committee (RSCC) coordinates all PSAC resources and activities in support of bargaining teams and in the event of a strike. Members of each bargaining team sit on this committee. The RSCC will weigh our strategic options and factor in whether or not negotiations are progressing before making a recommendation to the national president, who under the PSAC Constitution has the authority to call a strike.

To ensure you receive the latest strike information, it is essential we have your personal, non-work email address and personal cellphone number on file.

Some examples of strike action include:

• Strategic strike: A work stoppage by 10% of the bargaining unit at several key locations that will have the greatest impact.  
• Rotating strike: A series of surprise, one-day walkouts at strategic locations.  
• A lock-out: When the employer prevents members from working when in a legal strike position. 
• General strike: A work stoppage by all PSAC members in a particular bargaining unit.

Strikes by PSAC members in the past brought about major improvements that members enjoy today.

• In 1980, tens of thousands of PSAC members launched a strike against Pierre Trudeau’s Liberals leading to groundbreaking maternity leave benefits and, soon after, the 93 per cent top-up.
• In 1991, PSAC members walked off the job in the largest strike in Canadian history up to that point and brought about major gains in job security through what is known today as the Workforce Adjustment Directive.
• In 2001, the ‘Workless Wednesdays’ strike against Jean Chrétien’s Liberals led to the current Treasury Board policy requiring the conversion of term employees to indeterminate status after three years. It also led to the creation of the Joint Learning Program, which has resulted in major improvements in combating discrimination and harassment and addressing mental health in the workplace.
• In 2021, FB members held a work-to-rule strike which lasted one day, and won workers an eight per cent wage increase, better protections against excessive discipline in the workplace, leave improvements and paid meal compensation for uniformed officers.
• In 2022, 170 members at the Office of the Auditor General in Ottawa went on strike for 128 days – a long, difficult strike that put an incredible strain on their employer and ultimately won members a revamp of their pay grid and paid domestic violence leave, among other achievements.
• In 2023, tens of thousands of PSAC members went on strike at Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency and secured a better wage deal, a pensionable lump sum payment, stronger remote work protections, improved leave provisions, protections against contracting out, safer and more inclusive workplaces and seniority protections.

No. If you are part of a bargaining unit that’s on strike and haven’t been declared an essential worker, you cannot work during a strike. Members who attempt to work during a strike undermine the union’s position and can cause the strike to last longer or the final deal to be less than we’re asking for.

This is also the case for members who work remotely. Continuing to work remotely during a strike is considered crossing the picket line and is a violation of section 25 of the PSAC Constitution.

PSAC’s Constitution outlines disciplinary action that can be taken against members, including “a fine that equals the amount of daily renumeration earned by the member, multiplied by the number of days that the member crossed the picket line, performed work for the employer, or voluntarily performed struck work.”

If you notice a member who is not respecting the strike action, speak to them and make sure they are aware of the situation and expectations, and talk to them about what’s at stake. When we work together, we apply maximum pressure on the employer, which can lead to a shorter and more successful strike.

Your employer is obligated to pay you for your last pay period worked before the strike. After that, the employer may suspend pay until the conclusion of the strike.

• Strike pay for both regular and strategic strikes are governed by Regulation 6 in PSAC’s Constitution. Members are expected to provide a minimum of four hours of work per day in support of the strike to qualify for strike pay.
  
  Members who usually work 20 hours or more each week will receive the following strike pay:
  
  • $75.00 per day, for a maximum per calendar week of $375.00
    
• In the case of a ‘strategic strike’—that is, a targeted strike involving no more than 10% of the bargaining unit and lasting no longer than two weeks—strike pay will be 60% of a member’s gross salary.

PSAC will process strike pay weekly and payment will be issued in cheques.

Strike pay is not considered taxable income by the Canada Revenue Agency.

No. Union membership must be in good standing to receive strike pay. However, union cards will be available at all picket lines and rand members will immediately become eligible for strike pay once a card is signed.

Rand members have not officially joined the union or registered with PSAC, but still pay automatic union dues in accordance with the Rand Formula, a labour relations decision handed down by Justice Ivan Rand of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1946.

Your union has a lot of support systems in place to make sure you never go without pay while you’re on strike.

During a general strike, every member participating in the strike and joining picket lines will receive strike pay of $75 per day. This strike pay is tax-free.

Leading up to a potential strike, we encourage members to create a financial plan. This could involve contacting your financial institution to discuss consolidating or renegotiating loans and to request interest relief for loans and mortgages during the period of the strike. This plan could also include building up emergency savings, buying food in bulk ahead of time and exploring other sources of income on a short-term basis. Check if your insurance on your credit card offers minimum payments in situations of strikes or lock outs.

PSAC also has a Strike Hardship Fund for members who are severely financially impacted by a strike or lockout lasting over two weeks. The fund offers financial assistance when other options have been exhausted.

A Strike Hardship Fund is managed by PSAC nationally, with regions receiving and reviewing applications to make recommendations.

Members may also be asked for additional supporting financial documents as part of their hardship claim.

Periods while a member participates in a strike may not count as pensionable service. Also, the periods participating in a strike cannot be bought back. However, these periods are not considered as breaks in pensionable service for the purposes of calculating a member’s best five consecutive years of highest paid service.

The impact on the future pension for a member who participates in a strike is to push back — by the number of days on strike — the date on which the member completes the required years of service to qualify for a pension.

There will be no impact on the average salary on which the pension will be calculated for members whose days on strike do not fall within their five consecutive years of highest salary.

Average salary for pension benefit purposes is always based on a member’s best five consecutive years of highest paid salary. Any salary lost due to a strike during the final average salary period is accounted for by extending back in time the average salary period so that five years of paid earnings are used in the calculation. For example, if a member had been on strike for 10 days during the relevant period, their average salary would be based on earnings paid during the best consecutive five years and 10 days of employment. It should be noted that average salary is based on five consecutive years of pensionable service, rather than on five continuous years of service.

When contemplating retirement, members should obtain a copy of their exact record of pensionable service before deciding on a retirement date to ensure they have the required service for the desired pension option.

The employer may choose to cancel your leave, even if it has already been approved, because no collective agreement is in force during a strike.  

Employees in the striking bargaining unit who are on sick leave or “other leave with or without pay” before the start of the strike might be permitted to continue on leave, subject to continuing satisfactory proof that they meet the conditions for the granting of the leave. However, the employer may choose to cancel the leave because no collective agreement is in force during a strike.

Your entitlement to maternity or parental leave is established by legislation and therefore continues during the period of a strike.

Your entitlement to the salary top-up is established under the collective agreement and no collective agreement is active during a strike. The employer could, therefore, choose not to pay the top-up.

If you are on an acting assignment outside of the bargaining unit, you are not eligible to participate in the strike vote or take strike action.

Only the employer can terminate an acting position. You will continue in your acting position during the strike, unless otherwise instructed by the employer. If you decide to revert to your substantive position, you may be faced with disciplinary action, especially if the acting position belongs to another bargaining agent.

A strike does not constitute a break in service and will not impact your contract. If you are a term with more than three months service, you are a union member and are covered by the collective agreement. Therefore, you are expected to honour the picket line.

Yes. Apprentices and members on language training should advise the employer that they are on strike on the days there is a lawful strike, and not participate in training at a facility where PSAC members are on strike. As with other workers, members must engage in strike-related activities for a minimum of four hours per day to be eligible for strike pay.

PSAC is committed to ensuring members are informed about and prepared for a possible strike. We’ve launched strike training for all members so that we’re ready for any possible outcome. Contact your local executive to sign up for strike training.

We’re already organizing activities to show the employer that we’re serious about getting a fair deal. Activities may start small but grow to bigger, high-visibility actions. Check your union bulletin board and be sure to check your personal email address to stay up-to-date on events and activities. By showing our strength now, we might be able to avert a strike. That’s why it’s so important to attend as many rallies, events and actions as you can.

• Some examples of workplace action include:
  
  
  • Encouraging members to wear ‘Strike Alert’ stickers and display other mobilization materials in the workplace;
  • Heavily advertising strike training in and around the office (or digital workspace);
  • Holding workplace membership meetings to inform and organize;
  • Organizing large lunchtime rallies just outside the workplace or online.

Getting involved and taking action are key as we push for a fair contract. Be prepared, get mobilized, stay engaged, and be ready to take action:

• Read our bargaining updates and familiarize yourself with the key issues
• Attend mobilization events and participate in actions, information sessions, lunch and learns, and workshops
• Get in touch with your union local to get involved