Bank of Canada ordered to stop using replacement workers during strike

OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada has been ordered to stop using the services of contracted Garda workers while its security officers are on strike. 

In a decision Tuesday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board said the Bank of Canada has contravened the Canada Labour Code by using contractors and the services of union members during the strike.

Security officers at the Bank of Canada went on strike in June seeking better wages, benefits and stable schedules, after talks failed to secure a new collective agreement between the bank and the union.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said at the time that 63 security officers at the Bank of Canada’s Ottawa and Montreal offices were on strike and that the Montreal workers were also locked out by the employer.

The issue was brought to the board after the union also claimed the bank had been contacting workers during the strike and planned to contract a third party for security services.

The Bank of Canada said in a statement Tuesday that it respects the decision of the Canada Industrial Relations Board and will comply “as soon as it can put in place the necessary measures to maintain the required level of security for its people and facilities.”

In 2024, Canada passed legislation to ban federally regulated workplaces from bringing in replacement workers during a legal strike, and the new rules came into effect last year. 

Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said he had an “emotional call” with the local’s picket captains and bargaining team Tuesday after the decision was released.

He said the decision was a “major win” for the union, the Canadian labour movement and workers across Canada.

“Folks are feeling overjoyed, justified in this fight that we’ve been leading for the past 15 days straight against an unjust employer trying to force unjust concessions on these security workers who work hard to keep the bank safe,” said Silas, who was hired at the Bank of Canada as a security officer in 2010 and has been on the picket line as a captain throughout the strike.

“I’m just happy that the labour board did the right thing here.”

Silas said the union is waiting to get back to the bargaining table with the Bank of Canada. 

“At this point, these workers want to get back to work,” he said. “They love what they do, they’re proud of what they do but they feel that they have a right to some work-life balance and some respect from their employer.

“Hopefully this decision from the board will help the employer understand that they’ve been in the wrong and that the responsible thing to do now for the benefit of everyone and for the integrity and the reputation of the Bank of Canada, Canada’s central bank, is to get back to the table, withdraw their concessions and settle on a fair deal.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2026. 

— With files from Craig Lord and Sammy Hudes