An additional $1 billion of public-servant compensation will be required if Ottawa meets the demands of the union representing around 159,000 federal workers currently on strike, says a business advocacy organization.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) wrote in a report on April 19 that wage hikes the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is requesting for certain public servants would cost the federal government approximately $1 billion to meet.
The CFIB also notes that this estimated price does not include the “significant wage demands among the other PSAC unions.”
CFIB President Dan Kelly said in a release that any significant public-sector wage hikes would “also put pressure on the private sector to do the same—making the shortage of labour an even bigger challenge for small businesses.”…