SOME 155,000 federal workers, including 35,000 from Canada’s tax agency, went on strike today in what their union is calling one of the largest strikes in the country’s history.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said the strike was called after talks with the government failed to produce an agreement. 

The strike involving the Canada Revenue Agency comes just as tax returns are due.

Chris Aylward, the union’s national president, said the bargaining teams would remain at the table throughout the strike.

“Despite some ongoing movement at the bargaining table on key issues by both sides, the Public Service Alliance of Canada has decided to proceed with a nation-wide general strike,” the federal government's Treasury Board said in a statement.

The demand for wages that keep pace with the soaring cost of living in Canada is the main issue for the workers.

The Treasury Board said it offered the union a 9 per cent raise over three years.

But the union has pushed for annual raises of 4.5 per cent over the next three years, arguing that the increases are necessary to keep pace with inflation. 

It has also kept issues such as greater limits on contract work, more anti-racism training and provisions for remote work on the table.

Mediated contract negotiations between the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the government began in early April and continued through the weekend in what the union describes as the government’s last chance to reach a deal.

This comes after 1,700 pilots at WestJet Airlines also took a stand for higher wages to keep pace with the cost of living.

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association voted in favour of taking strike action by a massive 93 per cent in a strike that could begin on May 16 if both sides fail to reach a deal.