Union members who work at the Canada Border Services Agency voted 96% in favor of a strike mandate to be called at the appropriate time.
There are approximately 9,000 union members, members of the Customs and Immigration Union, attached to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), who are directly affected by these negotiations.
The union cites “a strong strike mandate that could significantly disrupt the movement of goods, services and people at Canadian ports of entry as the busy summer period approaches.”
As this is a sensitive sector for the country, in the event of the actual outbreak of a strike, essential services should be maintained.
These union members occupy positions as border services officers at airports, land border crossings and maritime and commercial ports of entry; positions of law enforcement officers in internal offices, intelligence officers; investigators; commercial agents; in addition to civilian members of the national office.
“If they want to avoid a scenario like that of 2021, the Treasury Board and the CBSA have every interest in presenting an offer that meets our major demands,” said Chris Aylward, national president of the Alliance, on Friday.
The Alliance says pressure tactics in 2021 had “almost completely shut down cross-border commercial traffic, leading to major delays at airports and borders across the country and forcing a 36-hour marathon of negotiations to achieve agreement “.
The collective agreement expired in June 2022.
Several points are in dispute, including pay parity with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which the union demands. The dispute also concerns the use of subcontracting, access to teleworking for those whose employment allows it, job security and the retirement plan.
The Treasury Board Secretariat finds this comparison inadequate. “The level of skill, effort, responsibilities and working conditions required to exercise these two types of professions is different and comparability should not be established on the sole basis that a proportion of the FB (Border Services) group has the designation of peace officer,” he replied before the Public Interest Commission. This aimed to try to bring the parties closer together.
On the salary front, the employer says it is seeking to “conclude a four-year agreement with total economic increases of 13.14%”.
Mediation sessions are planned from the beginning of June.