Yesterday afternoon, PSAC contacted Treasury Board to demand an update with respect to the assigning of a new employer negotiator for the FB group.
Our bargaining team is looking to confirm dates with the employer so that we might get back to the bargaining table and get our issues addressed by CBSA and the Treasury Board.
We will be sure to update as things progress.
All PSAC members working at Canada Border Services Agency will receive Phoenix damages compensation while bargaining continues for FB members.
Last year, PSAC rejected the government’s meagre Phoenix settlement offer of five days of cashable leave because it wasn’t equitable and was far too little to compensate for the damage caused by the disastrous pay system.
Instead, PSAC negotiated a far better Phoenix damages agreement that provides a $2,500 lump sum payment to be distributed to all PSAC members who have been directly or indirectly impacted by the Phoenix pay system. This new agreement is a substantial improvement from the five days of leave accepted by CSN/UCCO-SACC, PIPSC and all other federal bargaining agents.
The agreement – which all PSAC members at CBSA will receive independent of the bargaining process – will help make PSAC members whole for over four years of hardships caused by the Phoenix pay system.
The agreement has three main elements:
Due to the work required to implement new collective agreements and retroactive pay for over 120,000 PSAC members, we anticipate a delay, but the employer has committed to balancing these priorities in order to process Phoenix damages as soon as possible.
For greater details please read our summary of the deal and review our FAQ.
Our bargaining team is scheduled to return to negotiations from September 23 to 25. We remain at odds with CBSA/Treasury Board over several issues – from shift scheduling and firearm practice time to leave with income averaging and protections against excessive discipline on the part of CBSA management. Due to the timeline of the previous round of bargaining, we are currently at an earlier stage in the process compared to other federal tables that recently reached tentative agreements.
As always, we are committed to achieving a fair contract that makes CBSA a better place to work.
To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit psacunion.ca/fb-group and ciu-sdi.ca/issue/fb-group-bargaining. We’ll continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
Earlier this month, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) management at Toronto Postal Operations created new shifts and began assigning students – without managerial supervision – to work these shifts. CBSA management has also refused to offer these shifts as overtime to Border Services Officers (BSOs).
Our PSAC-CIU bargaining team has made proposals in national negotiations concerning protections against unilateral changes to schedules and to protect our bargaining unit work. We’re in favour of students getting training and opportunities for work experience, but they should not be used to replace trained officers at CBSA ports of entry. Our proposals in negotiations would ensure that students are not being used as cheap labour by the employer.
Labour law guarantees that while we are in bargaining, our current terms and conditions are frozen, unless the union consents to changes CBSA wants to make. We are opposed to BSOs being replaced by students. We do not agree with CBSA’s scheduling changes.
As a result, PSAC has filed a statutory freeze complaint with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board against CBSA and Treasury Board.
PSAC will also be taking legal action against CBSA over unilateral scheduling changes implemented at the Vancouver International Mail Centre.
We will uphold and defend our rights.
Last month, Treasury Board announced that its negotiator for the FB group is leaving. After our bargaining team reached out to Treasury Board demanding an update, we were notified that a replacement has been hired. We’ve proposed dates in September to resume negotiations. We are ready to get back the table and get CBSA/Treasury Board moving on workplace issues that need to be addressed.
To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit psacunion.ca/fb-group and ciu-sdi.ca/issue/fb-group-bargaining. We’ll continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
Our FB bargaining team met with Canada Border Services Agency/Treasury Board last month in virtual contract talks. Our team was scheduled to meet with them again in July, but the Treasury Board negotiator assigned to the FB bargaining unit is no longer representing the employer.
Consequently, our dates for next month have been postponed while a new negotiator is assigned by Treasury Board. We have notified the employer that our team is prepared to schedule dates during the summer once a new negotiator is assigned. We’ll provide an update once we have more information.
PSAC/CIU Border Services members continue to play a pivotal role in Canada’s response to COVID-19, repatriating Canadians returning home from abroad and screening travellers at the border.
Despite their ongoing efforts, CBSA management still refuses to make meaningful progress towards a new collective agreement for more than 9,000 border services officers, investigators and headquarters staff.
During bargaining via teleconference May 12-14, our PSAC/CIU bargaining team made it clear that it is time the government addresses core workplace issues we’ve raised in negotiations concerning excessive discipline in CBSA workplaces, and crucial scheduling issues. The same is true with respect to parity with the broader law enforcement community, including much-needed pension reform.
We also raised our telework proposals with the employer. Given the reality that so many of our members are now teleworking during this crisis, it only stands to reason that our collective agreement finally addresses this issue for our non-uniformed members.
Our team spoke to our proposals concerning technological change. We are looking for language in our collective agreement that would ensure meaningful consultation with PSAC-CIU on any changes, and that no bargaining unit jobs be lost due to technological change. The COVID-19 crisis has again shown that machines cannot do the job of trained CBSA officers.
CBSA rejected our proposals for protections against surveillance in CBSA workplaces and when officers are asked to remove their tools. We explained that we are maintaining our position on these issues. New protections are needed against CBSA management in our collective agreement.
Recently, CBSA announced its plan to unilaterally change scheduling practices in Toronto, despite opposition from the union and our members. As a result, PSAC put Treasury Board/CBSA on notice this week that it will take legal action if such changes are implemented.
Our team also indicated that PSAC legal counsel will take action should CBSA proceed with changes to the escort and removal procedures that undermine our work and our rights under the collective agreement. We will uphold our rights.
Our review of recent law enforcement wage settlements across Canada is ongoing – including our monitoring of wage talks for a first collective agreement for RCMP officers. Wage trends for 1st Class Constables at the RCMP are critical for comparative analysis to our group. Once the analysis is complete, we will commence wage discussions with the employer.
We also raised with management this week the issue of employees being provided T2200 forms for claiming home office expenses with the Canada Revenue Agency. The employer indicated that it is working on the issue.
We are in the process of setting additional dates with the employer.
To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit psacunion.ca/fb-group. We’ll continue to provide updates throughout the bargaining process. To see other updates on Treasury Board bargaining, check out psacunion.ca/treasury-board.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
