Security officers represented by PSAC at the Bank of Canada have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action should negotiations fail to reach an agreement that provides a reasonable wage increase and settles other major outstanding issues.
“The employer’s wage offer falls below the pattern set at Treasury Board,” said Alex Silas, Regional Executive Vice-President of PSAC’s National Capital Region. “Bank of Canada Security Officers deserve a wage increase that keeps up with the rising cost of living that we’ve seen over the past few years. These workers’ wages have been frozen since 2021 and they keep falling behind.”
The union is also seeking to address workplace challenges with respect to workload, workplace safety issues such as security officers working alone, and contracting out.
“Working alone is a serious issue at the Bank of Canada. It doesn’t make any sense that Security Officers at Canada’s Bank are regularly put in situations where they might have to handle dangerous emergency situations while working alone without readily available help,” said Silas.
Last year at an event hosted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem suggested that employers should refrain from accounting for high inflation when considering wage increases for their workers even as soaring consumer prices erode earnings – and it seems like the Bank has adopted that same practice when it comes to their own employees.
“Security officers at the Bank of Canada are feeling undervalued. Eighty of the top executives at the Bank just received $3.5 million in bonuses in 2022, with the average bonus totaling more than 60 per cent of what one security officer made that entire year,” said Silas. “And yet here they are fighting for increases that still fall below inflation, and the employer isn’t budging. That’s not right. These are the workers that protect Canada’s economy, and they deserve fair wages.”
Since 2015, the number of executives at the Bank of Canada increased by 18 per cent yet staffing levels for security officers decreased 15 per cent from 55 to 47, with eight vacant positions that the employer has not filled in the last year and a half.
“We’re hoping that with such a strong strike vote result the employer will understand that PSAC local 71250 members at the Bank of Canada are serious about getting an agreement that is fair and addresses their most serious workplace concerns,” said Silas.
Negotiations are set to resume December 19, 20, and 21.
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