Federal Strike Pavement Update

Canada is having a family dispute that has gone outside the gate. The federal government is an employer. Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) are on strike. What is it all about? It’s written in placards around their necks as they march up and down in the rain and snow.

Placards tell the story but they are just a headline, a bullet point. The owner of the neck should be able to fill in the blanks about the placard  “2% is milk, not wages.” Members of the public are either for and against any strike. In this case, can it influence what the government is offering and what the union accepts? We don’t know.

Effective placards are a magnet. They increase our desire to know more about the fight. It is therefore disappointing when striking workers cannot answer questions about messages they are parading on the pavement. This is where the union comes in. The reason why they cannot answer questions about the 2% or any other question related to their grievance, might be two-fold.

1. The union told them not to speak to the media, but send questions to shop stewards designated to answer them. You can’t blame the union for being cautious because the media is notorious for twisting answers to suit their headlines. But, ordinary people are not the media, they are government customers, one way or the other.

2. The union’s explanation for the walk-out was not understood. Yes, there was a strike vote, but if strikers on the pavement cannot briefly answer questions, then the union did not do a good job, justifying the walk-out.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.