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
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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.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
