News release

Canada Revenue Agency and Public Service Alliance of Canada unable to reach an agreement by strike deadline

Ottawa, September 7, 2004... The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) have reached an impasse in their efforts to conclude a new collective agreement for approximately 22,000 of the Agency's permanent employees, as well as a number of its term employees. CRA employees represented by PSAC are in a legal strike position as of September 8, 2004.

The CRA values its employees and the important work they do and it recognizes the need for fair compensation. At the same time, the CRA is an agency of the Government of Canada and is committed to the government's fiscal agenda and to Canadian taxpayers. In this environment, the CRA recognizes that it must balance fair compensation for our employees with our responsibilities as a federal agency.

The Agency, in an effort to reach a settlement, today presented a revised monetary offer of 2.25%, 1.75% and 1.75% (5.75% cumulative over three years). The union is proposing an increase to the compensation package in excess of 17% over three years.

The CRA's wages and benefits are already competitive with Treasury Board and other federal public service employers. In addition, some recent studies have shown that compensation for most federal public service employees is also competitive with that of their counterparts in the private sector.

In light of this information, the CRA is confident that its wage offer is reasonable and it continues to look forward to reaching a negotiated settlement with the union.

The CRA remains committed to providing the best possible services to Canadians, but in the event of a strike, some of these services could be affected. In the interests of public safety and security, the CRA has designated positions to maintain the delivery of certain activities considered essential. These activities include:

• the issuing of the Canada Child Tax Benefit and other benefit payments;
• the issuing of the GST/HST Credit and other credit payments;
• the processing of objections relating to eligibility for the CCTB or the GST/HST Credit; and
• the handling of rulings and appeals relating to insurability for Employment Insurance benefits and eligibility for the Canada Pension Plan.

Canadians continue to be responsible for meeting their tax obligations.

For more information about our services and taxpayer responsibilities during a strike, visit the CRA's Web site at www.cra.gc.ca.

• Chronology of collective bargaining between the Canada Revenue Agency and the Public Service Alliance of Canada
• Essential Services

This document is also available for download in .pdf format.

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