At this year’s Eastern Townships Branch Annual General Membership Meeting, members discussed the ongoing bargaining situation and expressed their support for their FB Bargaining Team, voicing their discontent at not being treated fairly by the government.
On December 14, 2017, our members in B.C. rallied in solidarity near the Peace Arch border crossing and sent a clear message to the employer: FB members deserve fair treatment at the bargaining table. These women and men are law enforcement, protect our borders, and deserve a fair contract.
Present at the rally with the members were local and national union representatives, including Rick Savage, CIU 4th National VP.
On December 7, at their Branch’s first Annual General Membership Meeting, Windsor members expressed support for their bargaining team, with everyone wearing their orange shoelaces as a sign of solidarity with the team and FB members accross the country.
On November 23, 2017, CIU and PSAC members rallied in front of federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s office, in Toronto, to tell the government that FB members deserve to be treated fairly. Among the members present were CIU 1st VP Mark Weber, Toronto Branch President Frances Baroutoglou, and PSAC Ontario Regional Exec VP Sharon DeSousa.
The FB Group is composed of more than 8,000 members working for the Canadian Border Services. These members, who have been without a contract since June 2014, protect Canada’s borders. They are law enforcement, and they deserve a fair contract!
This week, our PSAC/CIU bargaining team for the FB group will participate in the final hearing date of the Public Interest Commission (PIC) process at the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Employment Board (FPSLREB). In negotiations and in our PIC hearing last week, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) continued to push for concessions.
Some of these include:
Our union and our bargaining team have made it clear that we are not interested in concessions. Our position with CBSA and Treasury Board is that we are looking for improvements, not steps backwards. PSAC has successfully defended our sick leave. Our team has every intention of defending our other hard-fought contract rights.
We’ll be sure to provide updates as things progress. If you have questions be sure to follow up with your CIU Branch President.
A version of this article was first published on the PSAC website.
