Tag Archives: FB

CIU members support their bargaining team

Since the Labour Day long weekend, members from the CIU-PSAC FB bargaining team have been meeting with CIU members across the country to provide updates on the current status of the bargaining process. Members were keen to express their support, proudly wearing their orange epaulettes in solidarity, or displaying their CIU-PSAC water bottles.

Throughout the coming weeks, your support will continue to be crucial. Our bargaining team is returning to the table the week of September 16. We’ll be sure to provide you with updates. With the employer walking away from the other Treasury Board tables (PA, EB, SV and TC), we have to stand strong behind our FB bargaining team – so wear your epaulettes, and show your solidarity!

PSAC and government return to bargaining table to reach deal before election

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is resuming bargaining with Treasury Board for federal public service workers with the expectation that the government is committed to delivering a fair contract and proper compensation for the damage done to PSAC members by the Phoenix pay system. Continue reading →

FB bargaining team striving to make CBSA a better place to work

Our PSAC-Customs and Immigration Union (PSAC-CIU) bargaining team raised issues around vacation leave, medical notes, student workers and firearm practice time during negotiations with Treasury Board/Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) July 30 to August 1.

The team also reached an agreement to fairly compensate CBSA dog handlers.

Other key issues discussed at the table include:

Protections from CBSA Management

We continue to raise problems related to CBSA management culture and CBSA’s dealings with employees. In addition to proposals we’ve made concerning new protections in the context of discipline, abuse of authority and harassment, our team spoke again this week to our proposal to ensure whistleblowing protections are in place for PSAC/CIU members in the event of CBSA wrongdoing.

Paid Leave

Our team addressed the need for us to achieve improved leave and work-life balance. Most ports are understaffed, and overtime use is rampant. We have proposed an increase in annual leave to match what RCMP constables are afforded. We also raised issues related to access to leave with income averaging (LWIA).

Medical Notes

There is no clear policy with respect to employees being required to provide medical notes. CBSA managers often require employees to provide medical notes based on subjective criteria. Our position is that if management wants a medical note, they can pay for the costs associated with obtaining it.

Firearm Practice Time

Our team is demanding that officers be provided paid time for firearm practice, consistent with the Agency’s previous practice.

Student workers

We again raised the issue of students working at airports. In several locations across the country, students are being employed as a cheap labour force and undermining both the safety and security of Canadians and our collective agreement rights. Our proposals in bargaining regarding student use would rectify these issues.

Dog Handlers, grievance procedure, telework

We continued this week to push for language that would streamline the grievance process, and to provide better access to telework options for non-uniformed personnel. We also raised and resolved issues with CBSA management with respect to compensation for officers with dog-handling responsibilities.

We are scheduled to return to the bargaining table in September.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled and those of the employer, go to: psacunion.ca/fb. We’ll be sure to provide updates as things progress.

We stand tall for law enforcement

Together as FBs, we’ve achieved incredible victories over the years. PSAC is the largest union in the federal public service, and one of the largest public sector unions in the country. No other union has more experience in bargaining and representation within the federal public service than PSAC and CIU.

We successfully won the right for Border Services Officers to be armed in 2006.
Since 2007, PSAC-CIU successfully negotiated a 48% increase in compensation for frontline BSO, including a 17.5% raise in 2018.
We won significant new rights for shift workers, including protections in the context of VSSA negotiations and seniority rights.

Standing together, we will continue to work together and hold the CBSA’s feet to the fire to ensure we can continue to make groundbreaking gains for FB members.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.

FB bargaining team pushes for ’25 and out’ retirement, rejects concessions at table

Our PSAC-CIU bargaining team representing the Border Services (FB) group rejected concessions to job security and again pushed for ’25 and out’ retirement during negotiations with Treasury Board/Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the week of June 10.

Our bargaining team is frustrated that the employer is still unwilling to make meaningful progress on a number of core issues, including fairly compensating new officers (FB-02s), ’25 and out’ retirement and revamping the grievance procedure.

Pension Reform

We have made considerable progress over the past two rounds in our fight for parity with the broader law enforcement community. This week, we reiterated the need for pension reform for union members in the FB group. We are demanding a commitment from Treasury Board in support of pension reform. PSAC-CIU will also be undertaking other initiatives to push pension reform for the FB group during the coming election campaign.

Job Security

Treasury Board has made proposals to undermine the job security language in our contract contained in the Workforce Adjustment Appendix. We rejected the employer’s proposal and instead reiterated our proposals to enhance protections for union members.

We also raised the issue of students being used to undermine our work and public safety. We have made proposals to deal with student-related issues in the workplace.

Grievance Procedure

We’ve tabled demands to streamline the grievance process. There is no need to meet with Chiefs and Superintendents if Ottawa is making the decisions. We should be dealing with the source.

Fairly compensate new officers (FB-02s)

We again stated that Border Services Officers (BSOs), upon completion of their training at Rigaud, should be made FB-03s and compensated accordingly. The FB-02 classification is being used to exploit new officers. They wear the badge. They wear the uniform. They make the decisions. They deserve to be paid and treated accordingly.

Telework

After years of raising the issue of telework access for Trade Compliance Officers and other non-uniformed staff, the CBSA has announced a policy on telework. However, its application is unclear. We reiterated the need for there to be language in the contract on this issue.

We are scheduled to return to the bargaining table July 30 to August 1.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled and those of the employer, go to psacunion.ca/fb. We’ll be sure to provide updates as bargaining progresses.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.

FB bargaining team calls for end of FB-02 status for Border Services Officers

The PSAC-Customs and Immigration Union (PSAC-CIU) bargaining team representing the Border Services (FB) group made limited progress in their latest round of negotiations with Treasury Board/Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) the week of May 13.

Leave provisions

Over the course of the three days of negotiations, the parties discussed a number of issues. With respect to leave, the employer has proposed to make Care and Nurturing Leave (Article 41 Leave for Care of Family) “subject to operational requirements”. The bargaining team told Treasury Board that the team is not prepared to take steps backwards in this round of negotiations, and that “subject to operational requirements” at CBSA all too often means “NO”, and results in grievances. The PSAC-CIU team rejected this proposal.

However, the parties did make limited progress with respect to employees accessing Compassionate Care Leave and Caregiving Leave.

Pay parity for Border Services Officers

The team discussed the FB-02 situation. We have indicated to the employer that FB-02 Border Services Officers (BSOs) are effectively doing the same job as FB-03s, and are therefore being exploited as a cheap labour force. While the union and hundreds of members have filed grievances on this issue, it is the union’s position that clear language should be introduced into the collective agreement to ensure that officers are paid at the FB-03 level as soon as they leave Rigaud. CBSA has denied this proposal. The PSAC-CIU team is maintaining its position.

Workplace changes without consent

The team raised the issue of CBSA making changes in workplaces without obtaining the union’s consent, and that we will be consulting legal counsel concerning potential further legal action against CBSA for making unilateral changes to conditions during collective bargaining.

Negotiations are set to resume June 11-13, 2019. Dates have also been set to meet throughout the summer.

Click here to review PSAC-CIU’s package of proposals as well as those of the employer.

For more information visit psacunion.ca/fb.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.