Federal union adding millions to strike fund ahead of ‘challenging’ contract talks

OTTAWA — A federal union is planning to add millions of dollars to its strike fund ahead of what it expects to be “challenging” contract talks this fall.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is set to negotiate new contracts for close to 50,000 members later this year. It said topping up its strike fund sends a message that workers are ready to fight for fair pay, working conditions and public services.

“We’re not looking for a fight, we’re ready to negotiate, but we’re not going into bargaining without being prepared,” said Stéphanie Fréchette, the union’s vice-president. “We hope we never need a strike fund, but hope is not a bargaining strategy.”

Fréchette said three of the union’s more than 40 bargaining groups have already agreed to move towards a strike if they can’t negotiate an agreement with the government.

“That’s why we want to make sure that we have the money to support them if they needed us,” she said, adding that she doesn’t expect the exact amount going into the fund will be made public. “It’s a difficult time for our members.”

The union said negotiations will be tense given the ongoing job cuts, the new return-to-office policy, and the government’s use of private contractors.

Thousands of federal public servants returned to the office four days a week Monday, though a lack of office space is delaying the return for some departments.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is also negotiating new contracts for thousands of its members and has called wage offers presented by the federal government “insulting” and “unacceptable.”

It said earlier this year the government has tabled wage proposals that amount to less than one per cent per year for workers in the administrative services, operational services and technical services groups.

In 2023, more than 120,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada members spent almost two weeks on picket lines across the country before getting wage increases amounting to 12.6 per cent over the agreement’s term, which ran from 2021 to 2024.

Some of that union’s bargaining groups are scheduled to work with a third-party mediator this year to try to move discussions forward.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press