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LETTER: I am Canadian, I am a taxpayer, I am a public servant

'We are not the overpaid public sector workers, we are perceived to be. The average wage earned by our PSAC members ranges from $40,000 - $63,000 annually,' writes Kathy Green
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ThoroldToday received the following letter about the Public Service Alliance of Canada strike.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) bargaining teams have been at the table waiting to negotiate, a fair and competitive collective agreement for its members. We have been without a contract with this government since 2021.

Who are we? Canadians, taxpayers, neighbours, nieces, nephews, sisters and brothers. But most importantly, we are your public servants. We help bring government services to all Canadians across the country.

What we do often goes unnoticed, but Canadian’s daily lives are affected by the work we do every day. We are not just administrative staff. We are cooks, cleaners, police detachment services assistants, court liaisons, mechanics, firefighters, truck drivers, red seal trade workers, crane operators, plumbers, hospital staff, ship crews, inspectors, educators, teachers & librarians.

We keep our Canadian critical infrastructure, departments and agencies running.

We are critical to the Canadian economy. We administer vital social services like employment insurance, Canadian pension plan, old age security, child tax credit, income tax refunds, veteran benefits and pension plans and the famous CERB. Our wages are spent in the communities we live in.

Almost everything heard about public servants is negative and critical. We often hear about incompetence, waste, and laziness. Rarely about our successes and never about our sacrifices. We are often asked to do more with less. We are under resourced, underfunded, underpaid and often overworked.

We are not the overpaid public sector workers, we are perceived to be. The average wage earned by our PSAC members ranges from $40,000 - $63,000 annually. Many public service employees, who are sole income earners often work additional jobs just to make ends meet.

Despite the negative public opinion, we continue to work hard and show up for Canadians. We take pride in what we do, because we know what we do matters. We put Canadians first!

We want to go back to work. We are asking our elected officials and Canadians to show us some compassion and support us in asking this government to give us fair and reasonable compensation for the work we do. We can no longer afford to fall further behind.

Kathy Green
St. Catharines