Hundreds of Public Service Alliance of Canada members rallied at Halifax’s Grand Parade Square as they entered their second week of striking for increased wages.

It’s been more than two years since the union has been operating without a contract from the federal government. Workers say that they’ve been patient enough.

“We’ve tried and tried and waited for the government to give us something. We’re now two years past due on getting a collective agreement signed off,” said Brian Gordon who processes passports for Service Canada. “Everyone deserves a fair deal, and this is when we need to get our deal.”

Along with Increased wages, PSAC is fighting for more flexibility written into the collective agreement that allows workers to work from home or in a hybrid situation.

“For two and a half years, we worked from home, a lot of the passport people had to find a home office to keep up with all the password demands, and all of a sudden, out of the blue we’re called back to the office with no explanation,” said Moe Gautreau, who works in the Service Canada building across the street from Grand Parade Square.

The federal government says it has offered PSAC what it believes is a fair increase of 9 percent to their wages over three years.

Negotiations remain ongoing, but workers say they just want a fair deal so they can back to the office.

“It’s tough knowing that we’re so close to our offices, and we can’t go in there and help out doing the work. So, we’re just here looking for a fair wage and hoping that we can get this resolved as soon as possible,” said Gordon.