About two weeks before the yearly deadline for Canadians to submit their taxes, on April 14, more than 35,000 federal employees who evaluate and approve tax returns will be in a legal striking position.

The strike vote comes following more than a year of negotiations between the Canada Revenue Agency and workers represented by the Union of Taxation Employees within the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

In January, a mediator who had been brought in to assist with the negotiations last fall reported that the two parties had reached a deadlock.

The PSAC claims that it will withhold the strike vote results for “strategic reasons,” but that doing so places its members in a legitimate striking position as of Friday.

But, four days of negotiations with the CRA are slated to begin on April 17.

The CRA stated in a statement Friday that while respecting the employees’ right to strike, the agency’s top objective is to come to an agreement with the union.