After weeks of uncertainty, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has confirmed that 155,000 public servants will be on strike as of Wednesday morning.
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UPDATED: More than 155,000 public servants going on strike
Picket lines will be set up in more than 250 locations across the country by Wednesday morning, including in Ottawa and Gatineau
At a press conference held shortly after the strike deadline Tuesday night, Aylward told reporters that union members will be on strike as of one minute after midnight, with picket lines to be set up in more than 250 locations across the country, including in Ottawa and Gatineau.
All members, except about 30,000 workers deemed as essential workers, are expected to report to a picket line, making this the largest federal public service work stoppage since 1991.
In a press release issued following the Tuesday evening announcement, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said it had “done everything it can” to reach a deal and avoid disrupting services Canadians rely on.
“Despite some ongoing movement at the bargaining table on key issues by both sides, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has decided to proceed with a nation-wide general strike,” the statement said. “Our goal has always been to reach agreements that are fair and competitive for employees, and reasonable for taxpayers. While we recognize and respect the right to strike, a strike should always come as a last resort.”
“Even though there is a competitive deal on the table, the PSAC continues to insist on demands that are unaffordable and would severely impact the Government’s ability to deliver services to Canadians,” the statement said. “The Government of Canada recognizes the important contributions of public servants and will continue negotiations with the PSAC to reach an agreement quickly that would get needed wage increases into employees’ hands as soon as possible.”
Aylward said PSAC would stay at the bargaining table while workers strike but that both sides are still at odds in their negotiations. The union’s strike fund sat at over $43 million as of 2021.
“We are still aways apart but we’re staying at the table because we’re still hopeful and our goal is still to get to a tentative agreement,” Aylward said. “That’s why we’re staying at the table and we will remain at the table until we reach a tentative agreement if the employer is prepared to stay at the table as well.”
The main issue both groups have been looking to negotiate are wages, with Aylward noting that, as of Monday, the government had made several wage offers, though none of them match inflation.
He said they had provided higher offers than their previous offer to the Treasury Board group of 2.06 per cent annually, though none as high as the 10.5 per cent increased offered to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers last week and previously offered to the military.
On top of wages, PSAC has been negotiating for other bargaining issues including creating provisions for remote work in the collective agreement, provisions around job security and the elimination of privatization and contracted-out work, protections around hours of work and addressing systemic racism in the workplace.
In its wage proposals, PSAC called for CRA members to receive annual wage increases of 4.5 per cent, eight per cent and eight per cent again during a three-year contract as well as a one-time wage adjustment of nine per cent to account for a long-standing wage imbalance with Canada Border Services Agency employees.
For Treasury Board members, PSAC’s request is for a 13.5 per cent increase over three years (4.5 per cent annually), with the union stating that the rate of inflation for the same period would be of 13.8 per cent.
Throughout the bargaining process, the government has indicated that it remains committed to reaching fair agreements, with the Treasury Board writing in a media release Monday that it tabled a wage offer of 9 per cent over three years that mirrors the recommendations of the third-party Public Interest Commission, which provided non-binding recommendations for the four PSAC bargaining units in the core public administration to reach a settlement earlier this year.
“We are still here at the table, we will remain at the table, we will remain for as long as it takes during the strike and we will remain on strike until the government addresses our key issues at the bargaining tables,” Aylward said.
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Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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