Tag Archives: CIP

Public Interest Commission Hearing Wraps Up For FB

Our Team and Employer made final arguments on November 23, 2017.

As per the Public Service Labour Relations Act, our FB Bargaining Team filed for conciliation earlier this year when it became clear that the employer was not prepared to seriously address our issues, including parity with other law enforcement agencies and matters related to hours of work such as protections for compressed work weeks, VSSAs and telework.

With the PIC mediation attempt having failed in October, we proceeded to hearing on November 2 and 6 at the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Employment Board (FPSLREB). On Thursday November 23 we wrapped up our hearing before the PIC. Over the course of these hearings our bargaining team made our case for compensation parity with other law enforcement agencies across Canada, including other federal agencies under the Ministry of Public Safety. We also made the case – repeatedly – that there are serious problems at CBSA and that in light of these, we seek new rights for employees particularly as they pertain to discipline, hours of work and arming.

On Thursday, Treasury Board/CBSA continued to push for concessions concerning hours of work, VSSA negotiations and leave provisions. The employer also continued to take the position that there are no recruitment or retention issues at CBSA. Again, we were crystal clear with the PIC that we do not agree, and we provided evidence demonstrating ongoing problems at CBSA.

Now that the hearings are over, we await a recommendation from the PIC. Unlike arbitration, the recommendation is non-binding. While the legislation provides for the PIC to issue its recommendation within 30 days of the hearing, the Chair may ask for an extension. Given the number of issues outstanding, there was some indication that the Chair may exercise this prerogative. We will be sure to update as things progress.

Congrats to those members who picketed the office of Finance Minister Bill Morneau in Toronto on November 23, to those who handed out flyers in Cornwall on November 24, and to those union members elsewhere in the country taking action in support of a fair contract. For more information on lobbying efforts and other activities, contact a member of our bargaining team, your CIU Branch President or go to psacunion.ca/employer/fb-group.

FB Bargaining Team after the PIC on Nov. 23, 2017

FB Bargaining Team (right to left): Dave VanHelvert (BSO, Fort Erie, ON), Brea Lewis (BSO, Willow Creek, SK), Lauren Baert (BSO, Sarnia, ON), Richard Sutcliffe (Inland Enforcement, Toronto, ON), Joey Dunphy (BSO Edmundston, NB), Jean-Pierre Fortin (CIU National President, BSO, Clarenceville, QC), Diane Lacombe (BSO, Trudeau Airport, Montreal), Morgan Gay (PSAC National Negotiator), David-Alexandre Leblanc (PSAC Senior Research Officer), Charles Khoury (Senior Program Officer, HQ) (Absent – Brett Evans, BSO, Halifax Marine, NS).

A version of this article was first published on the PSAC website.

CBSA Continues to Push for Concessions: Union Says No

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:

CBSA wants to make Leave Without Pay for Care of the Family “subject to operational requirements”. Also CBSA is proposing to increase the minimum leave period from 3 to 12 weeks.
Our contract states that management must provide 7 days’ notice of shift change, otherwise the employee receives time and a half for the first shift worked. CBSA is looking to reduce the notice from 7 days to 48 hours.
CBSA wants the prerogative to take VSSA bargaining away from local decision-making and give CBSA National (in Ottawa) the ability to take control of VSSA negotiations.
CBSA has made proposals to bypass the National Joint Council Travel Directive so that some employees would not receive additional compensation when “temporarily” assigned to a port other than their home port.

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.

FB Bargaining Team Makes Its Case Before the PIC

As per the Public Service Labour Relations Act, our FB bargaining team filed for conciliation earlier this year when it became clear that the employer was not prepared to seriously address our issues, including parity with other federal enforcement agencies. With the Public Interest Commision (PIC) mediation attempt having failed in October, we proceeded to hearing on November 2 and 6 at the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Employment Board (FPSLREB).

Over the course of these two days, our bargaining team made our case for compensation parity with other law enforcement agencies across Canada, including other federal agencies under the Ministry of Public Safety. We also made the case – repeatedly – that there are serious problems at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and that in light of these, we seek new rights for employees particularly as they pertain to discipline, hours of work and arming. CBSA management is not to be trusted. We need new protections.

On the afternoon of November 6, the employer began presenting Treasury Board/CBSA’s case. The employer responded to our wage position by stating that it is inappropriate to compare members of the FB bargaining unit – including Inland Enforcement, Investigations, Intelligence and Border Services Officers – with other large law enforcement organizations such as municipal, provincial and federal police forces. The employer also indicated that there are no recruitment or retention issues at CBSA.

We do not agree. From CBSA YouTube recruitment videos to skeleton staffing at ports of entry to officers being asked to handout recruitment flyers to the public at certain ports, clearly there are recruitment and retention problems at CBSA. As for comparator groups, our position is that a majority of PSAC/CIU members at CBSA are armed law enforcement personnel with police powers, and that compensation needs to reflect this reality.

A final hearing date is scheduled for November 23. We wish to thank the officers from the Ottawa area who came and joined our team at the recent hearings. We’ll be sure to provide updates as things progress. If you have any questions, please contact a member of our bargaining team, or go to psacunion.ca/employer/fb-group.

A version of this article was first published on the PSAC website.

FB Mediation Talks Break Down

Our PSAC/CIU bargaining team for the FB group filed for a Public Interest Commission (PIC) earlier this year when we reached impasse in negotiations with Treasury Board/CBSA.

At the end of May the Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (PSLREB) appointed a Chair of the PIC. Subsequently the Chair set dates for the PIC process – October 17^th and 18^th, November 2^nd, 6^th and 23^rd.

Once the dates were set our bargaining team and the Treasury Board agreed, with the support of the Chair, to use the first two dates (October 17^th and 18^th) to engage in mediation in order to make progress on the issues outstanding. It is common during PIC or arbitration processes for there to be mediation at the outset.

Unfortunately we made no progress in mediation, with Treasury Board and the CBSA demonstrating no movement on the issues raised by our team in bargaining, including critical matters related to wages, hours of work, discipline, leave and protections for our jobs.

As a result, mediation talks have broken down and our team is now preparing to go to hearing at the Labour Board in two weeks.

Our union and our bargaining team remain committed to achieving a fair contract for PSAC/CIU members in the FB bargaining unit, one that addresses the issues we’ve raised with respect to achieving parity with other law enforcement agencies.

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 published on the PSAC website. You can also download the PDF version (bilingual document).

Working for a Fair Contract for Border Services Members

While Parliament is in recess over the summer, members of CIU’s National Board of Directors across the country are taking lobbying training and bringing our message to Members of Parliament. We’re talking to MPs about what it means to work for the Canada Border Services Agency and the importance of achieving a contract that provides parity with other law enforcement agencies.

Across Canada, we’re calling on MPs to contact Treasury Board President Scott Brison in support of our demand for an early retirement regime, one that reflects what is already in place for other law enforcement personnel in the federal public service.

There are many MPs we need to meet. While some meetings have already taken place, it’s not too late for CIU members to participate by volunteering to meet with their MP. Contact your Branch President who can provide you with helpful notes and information. Members can also get involved in Branch activities taking place over the summer to remind the employer that we want an agreement that meets our needs.

Progress is being made on an Essential Services Agreement

Talks concerning an essential services’ agreement (ESA) with Treasury Board are ongoing and progress has been made. Our hope is that an agreement will be reached in the very near future.

Because the essential services agreement determines which services can and cannot be withdrawn in the event of a job action, resolving the ESA with Treasury Board is critical step in the bargaining process that must be completed before a strike vote can be called and job action undertaken. We’ll provide an update as talks continue.

We’re preparing for the Public Interest Commission

Work is underway to prepare the extensive presentation and submission that our union will make before the Public Interest Commission (PIC). The first hearing dates are October 17 and 18.

A version of this article was also published on the PSAC website.