Canada’s customs officers no longer plan to strike this week after their union reached a tentative agreement with the federal government.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIS), which is affiliated with the PSAC, announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the government for employees of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), after working “tirelessly”.
If such an agreement could not be reached, the PSAC planned a strike of more than 9,000 members starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
“This is a well-deserved victory for our members at the CBSA who protect our country’s borders and ensure the safety of all Canadians,” said Sharon DeSousa, national president of the PSAC, in a press release. .
The union said details of the tentative agreement would be released after being shared with members on Thursday. Union members must still vote to ratify and finalize the agreement.
More details will follow
In its own press release, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat specifies that upon ratification, the new collective agreement for the Border Services group will apply to approximately 11,000 public servants.
“Long hours at the negotiating table” resulted in an agreement that was “fair for public servants and reasonable for Canadians,” the Treasury Board said.
The latter indicated that the agreement includes salary increases and other benefits, but he will not share more details until later.
“Public servants in the Border Services group play an essential role in the safety and security of our borders and this agreement in principle recognizes the importance of this work while remaining reasonable for taxpayers,” wrote the President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand, in the press release.
A similar strike three years ago nearly paralyzed commercial border traffic and caused significant delays across the country.