Tag Archives: FB

PSAC Calls for Fair Treatment of Border Services Officers

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is launching radio ads today to raise awareness about the important work done by Border Services Officers, Inland Enforcement Officers and other front-line law enforcement personnel at Canada Border Services Agency.

“Every day, Border Services Officers and other front-line officers at CBSA are putting themselves in harm’s way to keep our communities safe,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “They deserve the same fair treatment as other law enforcement officers.”

The Border Services (FB) group returns to the bargaining table with Treasury Board the week of January 30. The bargaining team is seeking improvements to compensation and working conditions, bringing them more on par with that of other law enforcement officers.

These improvements include a retirement regime consistent with other peace officers, more paid time for firearm practice, and enhanced protections for front-line officers in the context of firearm recertification and control defence tactics training.

“This is about fairness and safety,” said Jean-Pierre Fortin, National President of the Customs and Immigration Union – a component of PSAC. “These workers deserve a federal government that has their back.”

The ads can be heard on radio stations across Canada, as well as online at https://youtu.be/bqWEU1-XoX0

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

Treasury Board Bargaining Resumes in January

Four bargaining teams will be back at the table with Treasury Board, with the assistance of a mediator, to continue negotiations for new collective agreements.

The Education and Library Science (EB) and the Technical Services (TC) groups will return to negotiations the week of January 16, 2017.
The Operational Services (SV) and the Border Services (FB) groups will return to the bargaining table the week of January 30, 2017.

Tentative agreement reached for PA table

On December 14, 2016, the Program and Administrative Services (PA) table reached a tentative agreement, covering over 68,000 federal public service workers. The deal includes significant breakthroughs on “common issues,” such as sick leave and workforce adjustment.

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

FB Bargaining Team Spends Nine Days in Talks with CBSA

Our CIU/PSAC bargaining team for Border Services spent nine days (November 1 to 9) in talks with the CBSA and Treasury Board for a new collective agreement. We reiterated our key issues.

Fair wages: Our proposals seek to achieve wage parity with the broader law enforcement community. We tabled a market adjustment to bring us in line with the RCMP wage grid. The employer’s wage position on the general economic increase is a .75 per year, which will not even keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Retirement reform: We are seeking a commitment from Treasury Board to support the introduction of a retirement regime consistent with other federal law enforcement agencies.

New protections: We need new protections in the context of discipline (PSI and SRI), and against abuse of authority. We also need improved legal indemnification protections. We are demanding contract language to protect against the replacing of officers at land, air and sea port-of-entries with machines. Finally, we are looking for language that protects officers that are unsuccessful in CDT and Firearm Recertification.

Hours of work: Our team is seeking a paid meal period that is on par with other law enforcement agencies, as well as protections against management’s unilateral cancelation of compressed work weeks and telework arrangements. It’s also time for an increase in the shift premium.

Sick leave: We continue to seek improvements to the current sick leave regime. We’ve made some progress over the last session on this issue. The Employer has proposed a Memorandum of Agreement to deal with sick leave, in order to allow for discussion. We have been very clear that any discussion must respect our principles. Our principles with regard to sick leave remain the same – it must be contained in the collective agreement, it must provide for wage replacement, sick leave banks must be preserved and there must be no third party provider.

WFA: So far the government has refused to address our key proposals with regard to the Workforce Adjustment Appendix. Given the stress and turmoil that many PSAC members faced during the four-year period of public sector cuts and layoffs, we want to ensure that WFA operates in a fair, transparent and impartial manner.

Mediation: PSAC has suggested further bargaining with the assistance of a mediator.

For more information concerning FB negotiations, be sure to visit psacunion.ca/fb.

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

FB Bargaining Update: Wages and Hours of Work Dominate Discussions

Our FB Bargaining Team spent this past week in negotiations with Treasury Board/CBSA.

Wages: In bargaining we re-iterated our position with respect to compensation. CBSA is a law enforcement agency and employees should be compensated accordingly.

Astonishingly, the government asked about whether there are recruitment and retention problems at CBSA. With CBSA at the table on management’s side, we pointed out that recruitment and retention problems are such that CBSA has created YouTube recruitment videos and are asking officers to handout recruitment pamphlets to the public at POE’s and visit colleges to promote CBSA.

We made it clear that CBSA should be advocating for appropriate wages and working conditions for its staff, and that we have no interest in a settlement that doesn’t address the lack of parity between CBSA workers and those at other federal law enforcement agencies. We expect a response when we meet next.

Hours of Work – Shift Work and Compressed Work Weeks: This past week, we discussed our proposals to enhance rights and protections for shift workers, including the elimination of potential ‘6 and 2’ schedules being implemented by management. We are also raised our demand for fairer rules with respect to employees having the opportunity to relocate to different ports. With respect to day workers, we again reiterated our proposals to introduce protections against management unilaterally revoking compressed work weeks.

Sick Leave: Our position on the employer’s Short Term Disability Plan remains unchanged but we continue to seek either a renewal or improvements to the current sick leave regime.

We indicated to management that we are ready to meet again and are expecting answers from them on key issues that we’ve raised in this round of bargaining, including our proposals on telework and enhancement of protections for front-line officers in the context of firearm recertification and control defence tactics training.

For more information concerning FB negotiations and our next scheduled bargaining dates, be sure visit the FB Group bargaining section on the PSAC website.

Download the PDF version of this update (bilingual document).

FB Team Spends 7 Days in Contract Talks

Starting Friday June 17, our FB Bargaining Team spent 7 days in negotiations with our employer. Here’s a summary of issues that were discussed during that period:

Pension Commitment: At the outset the Treasury Board indicated its position that collective bargaining is not an appropriate venue for pension reform discussions and that the concerns raised by PSAC and CIU with respect to an early retirement plan should happen elsewhere. Our Team made our union’s position clear – we seek a written commitment from both Treasury Board and the CBSA supporting the introduction of a retirement plan that is consistent with what is in place at other law enforcement agencies.

Wages: We proposed a market adjustment to take effect the first day of our contract that would peg the FB wage scale to that of an RCMP Constable 1st Class. We have also tabled a paid meal period, consistent with standards common in the broader law enforcement community.

Hours of Work – Shift Work and Compressed Work Weeks: This past week, we made proposals to enhance rights and protections for shift workers, including the elimination of potential ‘6 and 2’ schedules being implemented by management. We are also seeking fairer rules with respect to employees having the opportunity to relocate to different ports. With respect to day workers, we have proposed protections against management unilaterally revoking compressed work weeks.

Increased Protections: We tabled proposals to enhance protections in our collective agreement for front-line officers in the context of firearm recertification and control defence tactics training. We also re-iterated the importance of new protections against CBSA management in the context of discipline.

Workforce Adjustment: We discussed the questions raised by the employer on our proposed changes to the Workforce Adjustment Appendix and continue to strive to make improvements. We reiterated our position against the contracting out of work. Many unions have identified this issue as a major concern in this round of bargaining.

Sick Leave: Our position on the employer’s Short Term Disability Plan remains unchanged but we continue to seek either a renewal or improvements to the current sick leave regime.

We indicated to management that we are expecting answers from them on key issues that we’ve raised in this round of bargaining. For more information concerning FB negotiations and our next scheduled bargaining dates, be sure visit the FB Group bargaining section on the PSAC website.

Download the PDF version of this update (bilingual document).