Tax return delays possible if CRA workers strike

Thousands of Canada Revenue Agency workers are threatening strike action and it could cause a delay for Canadians trying to file their 2022 taxes.

Thousands of Canada Revenue Agency workers are threatening strike action, and it could cause a delay for Canadians trying to file their 2022 taxes by the May 1 deadline.

In January, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of Taxation Employees announced a strike vote.

They represent more than 35,000 workers nationwide.

The union’s most recent collective agreement expired on Oct. 31, 2021.

The workers are asking for “a fair compensation package, protections in the context of access to remote work, new protections for union jobs and new scheduling rights, including years of service protections where there is evening and weekend work.”

“It’s just been accumulating, years of frustration, so we do not need to convince them,” said Marc Briere, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees. “They are all in favour of voting for a strike.”

He explained that members feel ignored and they haven’t received a wage offer since the agreement ended.