CRA ‘confident’ a compromise is possible as tax season strike fears grow

As the tax filing deadline approaches, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says it will be transparent about any impact on its services if workers go on strike – possibly as early as this week. In.

Also, the agency says it is “confident” that a settlement can be reached.

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“The CRA is committed to being transparent with Canadians about the impacts on services,” the agency said. In a statement released on Friday.

The deadline for filing income tax and benefits returns for 2022 is April 30.

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CRA employees voted in favor of strike action on Friday as a result of an ongoing labor dispute over contracts and wages.

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The CRA said it will resume talks later this month with the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Federation of Taxation Employees to try to reach a new collective agreement that is fair to workers and fair to taxpayers.

The final round of talks is scheduled to take place on April 17-20, with CRA employees on a legal strike from April 14.

“We are confident that the parties will explore several areas of possible compromise and trade-offs through honest discussions and concessions by both sides during the forthcoming negotiations,” the CRA said.

According to the unions, over 35,000 CRA employees are without a contract for over a year and the government is yet to respond to their salary offers.

“With inflation rising and wages neutral, our members are falling further behind,” Mark Briere, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees, a component of PSAC, said in a statement Friday.

“We have negotiated in good faith, but our members have had enough. Our bills keep piling up and our families are suffering. And now, we are going to show the government that workers will not wait.”

Voting for the strike began on January 31 and ended on Friday.

With files from Granthshala News’ Eric Stober.