Early in the morning of June 25, CIU and PSAC rallied at the CBSA College in Rigaud to send a clear message to the employer: We’re ready to ramp up the pressure and fight for a fair contract. That means parity with other law enforcement agencies and better protection against harassment and discrimination.
The FB group will be conducting an electronic strike vote across the country starting June 16. Support your bargaining team at our upcoming strike votes to make sure we can return to the bargaining table in a position to win a fair contract.
Select your region for details:
Please note that more may be scheduled after the 28th. Please prioritizing registering for a session in your region. After attending one of these sessions, you will gain access to information on how to vote. It will involve a 10-15-minute presentation by a member of the bargaining team, followed by an optional Q&A session. You must have your attendance recorded at one of the 10-15 minute presentation portions or your vote will not be counted.
| Date | Time | Language |
| June 15 | 7pm – 8:30pm EST | English |
| June 16 | 12pm – 1:30 EST | French |
| June 17 | 12pm – 1:30pm EST | English |
| June 21 | 5:30pm – 7pm EST | French |
These optional webinars have been set up to give FB members a chance to learn more about strikes, strike preparation, and ask any questions you may have. More may be added to the schedule depending on registrations.
Any questions you may have about strike votes or strike action can be answered at the virtual vote information sessions and strike preparation courses that will take place before you vote. However, to provide you with as much information as possible ahead of time, PSAC has compiled key questions and answers for you.
This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.
The Border Services (FB) bargaining unit consists of over 9,000 PSAC-CIU members at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), responsible for protecting Canada’s borders and the planning, development, delivery, inspection and control of people and goods entering Canada.
FB members have been without a contract for nearly three years, with our collective agreement having expired in June 2018. At the table, our bargaining team has been fighting for key issues, including parity with other law enforcement personnel across Canada, better protections against harassment and discrimination, and a fair remote work policy for our non-uniformed members.
CBSA’s refusal to budge on these core demands led the FB bargaining team to declare impasse in December. We’ve submitted and presented our dispute to the Public Interest Commission and are awaiting their recommendation. In the meantime, we’re holding a vote seeking a strike mandate from the membership to give our bargaining team the leverage we need to call a strike if necessary.
Any questions you may have about strike votes or strike action can be answered at the virtual vote information sessions and strike preparation courses that will take place before you vote. However, to provide you with as much information as possible ahead of time, PSAC has compiled key questions and answers for you.
This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.
Like you, we are all CBSA employees. Together, we have over 100 years of diligent service with the federal government. We care deeply about the work that we do, and we care about our coworkers. That’s why we got involved in the union in the first place, and that’s why we’re reaching out to you today about the most important decision we’ll all need to make this round of bargaining.
For over two years, we’ve been in negotiations for a new collective agreement with Treasury Board and CBSA. In the middle of negotiations, Canada and the rest of the world were engulfed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We – PSAC-CIU members at CBSA – have been on the front lines of that pandemic every single day, putting our health at risk to keep Canadians safe and our borders secure. From Programs Officers interpreting Orders in Council and Inland Enforcement Officers conducting removals to BSOs inspecting PPE and everyone in between, we’ve all played a critical part in protecting Canadians.
The importance of our work is undeniable. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair has publicly recognized our work during the pandemic on more than one occasion, while CBSA has frequently commended the work that we do to keep our borders secure.
Unfortunately, this praise seems to simply be empty words, because we haven’t seen that same recognition at the bargaining table.
When we make the case that we deserve parity with other hard-working law enforcement personnel across Canada – from wages to paid meal periods to issues related to firearms and other tools – we are told no. When we raise the dire need for pension reform at CBSA, we see no movement whatsoever from the employer. And with respect to our non-uniformed colleagues, who have been faithfully serving Canadians while working remotely throughout the pandemic, the employer still refuses to negotiate telework provisions into our collective agreement.
We’re also grappling with a toxic workplace at CBSA where we all work under the constant threat of heavy-handed discipline and abuse of authority. That’s why we need new protections in the context of discipline, harassment and whistleblowing in our collective agreement, but our proposals to protect employees have been denied.
Instead, CBSA is pushing for concessions – introducing a 48-hour shift change notice clause (instead of the current seven days), massive changes to scheduling and VSSA protections and changes to family care leave that would make it inaccessible to most of us and at the discretion of managers
The employer wants our jobs to matter more than our families when all they do is treat us like we’re all replaceable. We can’t stand for that, and we believe it’s time to make our stand.
Last month, we made our submissions to the Public Interest Commission, and they’ll provide their recommendations on our outstanding bargaining demands.
➡️ Read the full PIC submission
In the meantime, we’re fed up with the disrespect we’re all being shown by CBSA and the government, and we need to show them we’re ready to stand up to them to get the contract we deserve.
That’s why we – along with the PSAC National President and the CIU National Executive – have made the decision to conduct a vote to seek a strike mandate from the membership.
We’re asking you to vote YES to a strike mandate so that we can send a clear message to CBSA. Your support will give our bargaining team the leverage we need to call a strike if necessary.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be giving you all the details you need about the process, how you can stay informed and take part in the vote. But we wanted to be the first to tell you – directly from the bargaining team – that this is our time to make real and meaningful changes at CBSA.
Stay tuned for more updates. If have any questions, please be sure to follow up with your CIU
Branch President or contact your local PSAC regional office.
We hope you’ll stand in solidarity with us and all CBSA staff so that we can reach a fair agreement with CBSA and Treasury Board. We’re all in this together.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Ross
Newfoundland/Labrador
St. John’s Airport
Joey Dunphy
New Brunswick
Edmunston POE
Claude Bouchard
Quebec Eastern Townships
St Armand POE
Ken Turner
Windsor Ontario
Ambassador Bridge
Frances Baroutoglou
Toronto Postal Operations
Charles Khoury
Headquarters – Ottawa
Mat Ashworth
Northern Ontario
Rainy River POE
Michael Aessie
Manitoba
Commercial office
Leanne Hughes
British Columbia
Victoria Airport
This article has also been posted on the PSAC website.
PSAC National President Chris Aylward has authorized strike votes for members of the PA, SV, TC and EB bargaining units following the release of the Public Interest Commission (PIC) report last week.
More than 90,000 members of the four bargaining units will have an opportunity to vote at strike meetings to be held from March 16 to May 7, 2020. Strike votes for the 27,000 members of the Canada Revenue Agency bargaining unit are already underway.
“PSAC bargaining teams need a strong strike mandate from members to force Treasury Board to come back to the bargaining table with a new mandate so that we can get a fair settlement quickly,” said Aylward.
Aylward noted that the Public Interest Commission (PIC) report on common issues made it clear that to reach a deal the government will need to offer PSAC members more Phoenix compensation and a wage increase in line with the cost of living. The report also highlighted the need to address compensation gaps and recruitment/retention challenges for those groups that are underpaid relative to comparable groups inside or outside the federal public sector.
The government’s current offer falls short on all fronts. They have yet to table wage increases that would ensure rises in the cost of living are met, and their Phoenix compensation proposal remains meagre and unequal across the public service.
“The threat of a strike will give the employer the nudge it needs to avoid more disruption during their minority government,” said Aylward.
“That’s why we urge all PSAC members to vote yes.”
In the coming weeks members will receive notices of strike vote meetings via email and through your locals and regional offices. The information will also be posted on the front page of the national website, as well on PSAC regional websites.
Please check out the following link if you would like more information on strike votes and strike action. We’ll be adding more information in the days ahead to answer a wide range of questions so make sure to check back.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
