PSAC strike: Majority of Canadians believe federal workers are paid fairly, says poll

With wages central to the federal workers’ strike dragging on into its second week, a new survey has found that a majority of Canadians believe federal employees are paid fairly for their work.

The Angus Reid Institute survey, released Thursday, said 64 per cent of Canadians believe federal workers are fairly (36 per cent) or overly (28 per cent) compensated, while 17 per cent said they are underpaid.

The sentiment — which was fairly consistent across the country — could be an indication of the level of public support for the strike, which started April 19 and involves 155,000 federal public workers who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

In B.C. 62 per cent feel federal workers are earning a fair wage or are getting paid too much, while 18 per cent says they are underpaid.

Quebec and Atlantic provinces have the largest segments who say federal government workers are fairly compensated, at 42 per cent and 39 per cent.