The Canadian Border Employees Union announced Friday evening that the initiation of pressure tactics was suspended and that mediation with the employer would continue until Wednesday.
The more than 9,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who work for the Canada Border Services Agency announced that they would go on strike at 4 p.m. on Friday if the process of mediation did not allow an agreement to be reached.
“We have paused all pressure tactics to continue talks and obtain a good employment contract for our members,” declared Sharon DeSousa, national president of the PSAC, in a press release Friday evening.
“These people ensure the safety of our families by ensuring the smooth flow of goods and people entering the countries. What they want: fair wages, a fair retirement and a better working climate,” she said.
In the same press release, Mark Weber, the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, which is part of the PSAC, reminded that members play an essential role in protecting the borders in several ways and that they deserve “to be treated with respect and dignity, just like their counterparts in the country’s law enforcement agencies.”
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat also reacted in a press release on Friday, affirming that the Government of Canada was pleased that the PSAC remained at the negotiating table. “Discussions to date have been productive and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that is fair and reasonable for the members of the Border Services group as quickly as possible,” the press release said.
The two parties have been in mediation since Monday.
The union says key issues include pay parity with other law enforcement agencies, teleworking, retirement benefits and enhanced workplace protections.
Other issues members say include retirement benefits and protections related to “harsh discipline.”
The union is also concerned about technology taking over tasks that would otherwise be done by agents, such as with customs kiosks set up at Canadian airports. He also requested that the arrangements for working from home be included in the collective agreement.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand told the House of Commons on Thursday that the government was “committed to reaching a fair deal for employees and for Canadian taxpayers.”
The union is committed to choosing a new deadline in the coming days and says its members could use pressure tactics if an agreement is not reached in time.
The government maintains that 90% of front-line border agents are designated essential, meaning they cannot stop working during a strike.
But union members might resort to over-zealing, a tactic in which employees do their jobs exactly as outlined in their contracts.
Experts estimate that this could make each border crossing take longer than normal and thus cause massive traffic disruptions.
A strike would not only be a problem for tourists, but would have “a very significant impact on the economy,” Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton University’s business school, said in an interview last week. .
Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters warned Thursday that a strike would affect the “2.5 billion goods a day that cross the border.”
“Once again, businesses will be held hostage by a labor dispute. These conflicts affecting the transport of goods are no longer the exception, but the rule. The federal government must be proactive,” indicated Véronique Proulx, president and CEO of Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec.