Bank of Canada security staff prep for strike vote amid ‘stagnant’ wages
Security personnel at the Bank of Canada could walk off the job in the new year if they vote to get into strike position later this month.
A union official says pay for security officers at the central bank has been “stagnant” since 2021 without a new collective agreement. This comes as the Bank of Canada’s top officials have warned that higher wages could affect its ability to fully tame inflation.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) said in a release Wednesday that the local unit representing roughly 50 officers at the Bank of Canada’s main offices in Ottawa will initiate strike votes in mid-December.
That comes after conciliation talks on Nov. 27 and 28 failed to bring the parties to agreement, according to the union. Bank of Canada security personnel have been in negotiations with the employer since February 2022 and without any collective agreement since it expired the year before.
Ruth Lau-MacDonald, alternate regional executive vice-president for PSAC in the National Capital Region, tells Global News there have been 33 days of negotiations since that time, with the potential for three more dates this year.
“Unfortunately, the employer hasn’t met the members in a place where they’re feeling like they’re making a living wage,” Lau-MacDonald says.
PSAC is looking for wage increases that mirror gains seen in its negotiations with the Treasury Board Secretariat earlier this year. That agreement, which saw public servants go on strike in April and May, works out to roughly 12 per cent over four years — something Lau-MacDonald notes still doesn’t keep pace with inflation over recent years.
Global News reached out to the Bank of Canada for its response to the union’s claims that the central bank is refusing to
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