Picketers aim for increased visibility in London, Ont. as PSAC strike enters 2nd week – London
The London District Labor Council will hold a solidarity rally in London, Ontario, as the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) strike enters its second week on Wednesday and the rotation line continues.
More than 150,000 PSAC members have been on strike for eight straight days, and union representatives continue to negotiate with the federal government, calling for significant wage increases and greater flexibility for remote working.
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A solidarity rally in London will be held from 12pm to 1pm at 451 Talbot Street. Outside his building at Richard’s Pier Point on the corner of Talbot Street and Queens Avenue, his local PSAC members maintain a “megaline.”
Picketers used a central location at the start of the strike, but instructions from the PSAC will cause demonstrators to rotate between local federal infrastructure this week.
Picket participants from London and the region converged at Wolseley Barracks on Monday, reducing traffic on Elizabeth Street. Demonstrators then moved to the Canada Post administration building along Highbury Avenue on Tuesday and returned to the barracks on Wednesday.
A Canada Post vehicle stopped by PSAC members in London, Ontario, April 25, 2023.
Marshall Healy/Global News
“We’re trying to create more visibility,” local strike captain Tu Trin said Tuesday outside the Canada Post building.
“We are joining the (Canadian Postal Workers Union) and with their solidarity and support, we are creating chaos but trying to keep it safe from accidents.”
Trinh, who is also the Southwestern representative of the PSAC Ontario Regional Council, said the picketers “will be here as long as we can get the message across that we deserve better.”
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Mobile demonstrations are taking place across Canada, with federal officials marching Monday morning at the Cascadia Terminal in Vancouver and members marching on the Portage Bridge between Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec on Tuesday.
Federal ministers have said they are monitoring the demonstrations as they escalate into areas causing traffic jams.
“On the one hand, they have the right to strike and to demonstrate,” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters on Tuesday.
“On the other hand, we need to ensure that the economy can continue to function across the country.”
Both sides have accused each other of misrepresenting to the public how negotiations are progressing behind closed doors.
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