The union representing Canada Revenue Agency workers is proposing a series of pay bumps worth more than 30 per cent of current wages to keep up with inflation — a move described by observers as both “unprecedented” and “crazy.”
The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) is proposing the following wage increases, on top of a one-time nine per cent wage adjustment:
4.5 per cent effective Nov. 1, 2021.
8 per cent effective Nov. 1, 2022.
8 per cent effective Nov. 1, 2023.
When compounded over three years, the four proposed hikes would result in a “historic” wage increase for the largest workforce within the federal public service, at nearly 55,000 employees in 2022, said union president Marc Brière.
About 35,000 of those employees are represented by UTE.
Brière said the proposal aims to address an imbalance between CRA employees represented by UTE and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which has approximately 14,000 employees.
I’ve never heard of demands anywhere close to this.– Jock Climie, Labour lawyer
The two agencies used to function as one between 1999 and 2003 where employees were paid the same rate. Once they became independent of each other, it created a wage gap of nine per cent because CBSA uses the Excise Act.
“They used to sit side-by-side in the early 2000s. They were the same group and occupation, the same classification, and then making the same amount of money,” Brière said.
As of 2021, wages at the CRA have ranged between $41,658 and $121,923, compared to the CBSA which range from $64,849 and $135,509.
This graph shows how wages compare for similar administrative positions within the two agencies.
However, it appears CRA employees’ wages may also lag behind other federal agencies deemed outside the government’s core public administration.
Direct comparisons are difficult to pinpoint due to differences in roles and salary designations. This chart does show what a mid-level CRA employee makes after three years, compared to administrative counterparts in the next three largest federal agencies.
The discrepancy doesn’t add up with the work CRA employees have been asked to do, said Brière, especially in recent years because of the pandemic.
“We have people that are specialized. The Income Tax Act is complex and they are doing great work. They have proven it during the pandemic, not only administering the income tax programs but even the emergency programs, which is not in our portfolio,” he said.
It’s a big ask at the centre of tense negotiations between the union and CRA management, which have both failed to reach a collective agreement.
UTE announced nationwide strike votes earlier this month that will take place from Jan. 31 to Apr. 7.
The CRA has filed a complaint against the Public Service Alliance of Canada—Union of Taxation Employees with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, arguing the union has failed to “bargain in good faith” and “make every reasonable effort to enter into a collective agreement.”
CRA workers are asking for an “unprecedented” pay raise
10 hours ago
Duration 1:23
The Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) is proposing a series of wage increases, which critics say puts unfair pressure on Canadians.
Living costs justify proposal, says union
Until now the biggest wage increase for CRA employees was 3.2 per cent per year from 2000 to 2003, which amounted to a nearly 10-per-cent bump over three years. Its lowest was one per cent per year in 2014 and 2015.
Brière argues this time is different because of inflation and the high cost of living.
“People are having a hard time out there to make ends meet and so that’s why we’re asking for a new contract with decent wage increases,” he said.
It’s an “unprecedented” request, according to Jock Climie, an Ottawa-based labour lawyer who has negotiated bargaining agreements for unions and federal agencies for more than 20 years.
“I’ve never heard of demands anywhere close to this,” Climie said.
This could be a sign of things to come with increasing inflationary pressures causing unions and employees to become “more aggressive in terms of their demands,” he added.
Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the proposed pay increase for CRA workers would ‘gouge’ taxpayers. (Craig Ryan/CBC)
Critics say proposal is ‘crazy’
On the other side of the negotiating table, CRA management says the wage proposal would be costly to taxpayers and the threat of a strike during tax season puts unfair pressure on Canadians.
Some other critics agree.
“Everyone struggled through the pandemic but these government employees did not struggle … in the same way that their neighbours, who will have to pay higher taxes to fund these union negotiators’ demands,” said Franco Terrazzano, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, which lobbies for lower taxes.
He said the union is using inflation as “an excuse to gouge Canadian taxpayers that can’t afford these crazy demands.”
The union and the CRA are scheduled to attend Public Interest Commission hearings on Jan. 27 and Feb. 20 with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
The board is expected to put forward recommendations on how the two parties can reach an agreement this spring, but the recommendations are non-binding.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for his first shutout of the season and 32nd overall, helping the Los Angeles Kings beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist and Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala also scored. The Kings have won two of their last three.
Juuse Saros made 24 saves for the Predators. They are 1-2-1 in their last four.
Kopitar opened the scoring with 6:36 remaining in the opening period. Saros denied the Kings captain’s first shot, but Kopitar collected the rebound below the goal line and banked it off the netminder’s skate.
Fiala, a former Predator, made it 2-0 35 seconds into the third.
The Kings held Nashville to just three third-period shots on goal, the first coming with 3:55 remaining and Saros pulled for an extra attacker.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Monday:
—
DEVILS 3 OILERS 0
EDMONTON, Alta. (AP) — Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his NHL career, helping the New Jersey Devils close their western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored. The Devils improved to 8-5-2. They have won three of their last four after a four-game skid.
Calvin Pickard made 13 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers had won two straight.
