PSAC president 'hopeful' that a deal will be struck soon, reiterates call for Trudeau to weigh in
CTV
The president of the country’s largest public service union says he is "hopeful" that a deal will be reached with the federal government soon amid the continuing strike of more than 155,000 federal public servants.
The president of the country's largest public service union says he is "hopeful" that a deal will be reached with the federal government soon amid the continuing strike of more than 155,000 federal public servants.
Speaking to CTV News Channel on Sunday, Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), reiterated his previous call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get involved.
"We still believe that the prime minister, at this point, should be weighing in, because we know that the strike is having an impact on the economy," he said. "Certainly we're trying to have the least amount of impact on Canadians as possible, but certainly our members—if we don't reach a deal this evening—our members are back on the picket lines tomorrow, unfortunately."
Aylward originally called for Trudeau to weigh in during a media availability on Saturday, saying the union had not heard back from the federal government for two days.
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier responded to this on Twitter, claiming the federal government had tried to table a counter-proposal Saturday, during which time the union held a press conference instead, before both parties met.
This isn't quite what happened, according to Aylward.
"On Thursday night, we gave the employer a comprehensive package that we thought could get us to a deal," he said. "They told us Friday morning, that they would respond sometime on Friday. Friday came and went."
