Members of the FB bargaining team are visiting worksites and holding membership meetings across the country.
This is your opportunity to meet the bargaining team, hear a bargaining update, and get materials so you can show your support during this round of bargaining.
Dates, times and locations are available on the PSAC website. This will be updated as more information becomes available.
Our FB Bargaining Team met with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Treasury Board June 13-16 to continue talks towards a new collective agreement. After conducting a comprehensive analysis of compensation and working conditions within the law enforcement community, we presented our wage demands.
We have proposed aligning our wage grid with that of the RCMP. Additionally, we have proposed that all employees in the bargaining unit be granted a paid meal period, as is the standard practice across the law enforcement community.
Furthermore, we are seeking improvements with respect to premiums and allowances to address ongoing workplace issues. This includes an increase to the dog handler allowance, and the introduction of a field coaching and plain-clothes allowance. Paid firearm practice time, an escort removal premium, and fitness allowances were also discussed, along with paid membership fees for hearings officers and range fees for armed officers.
Management has not yet responded to our wage proposals.
Our team once again pressed the employer to cease the unilateral changes being implemented under the Traveler Modernization Initiative. PSAC-CIU has already initiated legal action against CBSA regarding the changes to ArriveCan and E-Gate. This is union work and CBSA should be consulting appropriately with us.
We also reiterated our proposals regarding workplace harassment. The recent Public Service Employee Survey clearly indicates that CBSA is a toxic workplace where workers frequently experience harassment from management.
Our team suggested several dates for negotiations during the summer. However, the employer refused to bargain in July and August due to the Summer Action Plan. Why this should make it impossible for parties to meet is unclear, and we can only assume the employer is under the belief that our ten bargaining team members’ presence on the frontline is key in resolving CBSA’s inadequate staffing levels. In any case, it is shameful to see the Treasury Board once again needlessly delay the bargaining process.
Throughout the summer, our bargaining team will be visiting worksites across Canada to gather input from members and provide face-to-face updates on the bargaining process. Stay tuned for further updates as these plans progress.
We return to the bargaining table in September.
Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates about bargaining. If you have any questions, please contact your branch presidentor yourPSAC regional office.
Attachments: fb_pay_proposal_june_13-15_en_final.pdf
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
PSAC-CIU recommends the government strengthen its proposed legislation to introduce civilian oversight for both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) by broadening is scope to address systemic discrimination and abuse of authority by managers.
Mark Weber, National President of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), raised concerns about Bill C-20’s ability to bring about real, systemic change within CBSA unless it includes guarantees maintaining collective agreement rights and provides ways for CBSA employees to report abuse and overreach by management.
Bill C-20 would create a Public Complaints and Review Commission serving as a civilian oversight body for both the RCMP and CBSA.
“We agree that it is paramount for our government and its agencies to develop the tools and recourses necessary to address issues linked to overreach, systemic discrimination, and abuse of authority ” said Weber. “The Bill seems to be missing the mark when it comes to addressing systemic issues already present within the Agency which is infamous amongst its employees for letting gross abuse by management run unchecked.”
The bill also lacks clear language on time limits for complaints and investigations, and around established collective agreement rights such as union representation during administrative investigations.
Under the current wording of the bill, CBSA officers and other personnel would not be able to report instances of unfair or abusive disciplinary measures to the Commission. This is especially concerning, as management within the Agency is known to brush aside complaints from employees, choosing instead to use the extensive discipline process already in place to punish workers.
PSAC-CIU’s testimony also flagged to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security that perennial issues exist such as prioritizing technology over personnel, arbitrarily cancelling anti-racism training and staffing holding facilities with poorly trained, contracted out, private security guards. Stronger provisions in the legislation would help address entrenched cultural issues within CBSA management.
Bill C-20 is also an opportunity for the federal government to recognize CBSA law enforcement officers deserve the same treatment and benefits as other public safety personnel in Canada.
During the last round of FB collective bargaining, PSAC successfully negotiated an agreement with Treasury Board to push for equitable pensions for FB members. Treasury Board committed to resubmitting the FB group’s proposal for legislative amendments that would provide enhanced early retirement benefits (also referred to as 25 and out) under the public service pension plan. Now, the government must introduce legislative changes that would make early retirement a reality for FB members.
“Our law enforcement members are an integral part of this country’s public safety framework. The proposed creation of this new civilian oversight body implies that the federal government agrees” said Weber. “Yet PSAC-CIU law enforcement members are still not recognized as public safety personnel under major public service legislation such as the Public Service Superannuation Act and the Income Tax Act.”
The government cannot pick and choose; for Bill C-20 to be coherent, it must be accompanied by legislative changes confirming the status of CBSA law enforcement officers as public safety personnel across federal legislation.
Watch the entire webcast on ParlVU.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
Our FB bargaining team met with the employer May 24-25 for the first bargaining session since the government introduced the 2023 federal budget and Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act. It was our first opportunity to oppose the changes outlined in Bill C-47 since we postponed negotiations in April in solidarity with striking Treasury Board and Canada Revenue Agency workers, and last met with the employer March 21-23.
The government is proposing changes in Bill C-47 that put our communities at risk by allowing individuals to enter Canada without speaking to a border services officer. This is reinforced by CBSA’s Traveller Modernization initiative. Our FB bargaining team voiced opposition to proposed changes that would implement self-checkouts at the border.
Self-checkout kiosks at Canada’s borders will make it easier for people intending to commit crimes — including dangerous offenders and individuals who would not be allowed to enter Canada for criminality (including war crimes), as well as individuals engaged in espionage or smuggling people, guns, and drugs — to enter the country, as we know they will not self-identify if given the chance to process their own entry.
PSAC-CIU will take the employer before the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board for technological changes that have already been introduced by CBSA, including ArriveCAN and eGates.
During negotiations this week, our bargaining team called on Treasury Board and CBSA to halt the rollout of these changes — as well as the border services officer information sessions that management is carrying out related to “border modernization” — until the employer has properly consulted with PSAC-CIU. If they refuse to do so, we will consult our legal counsel about taking legal action against the employer. We will not sit idly by while the government eliminates officers from the front line and puts our communities at risk.
The team also spoke to our proposals concerning anti-racism training and asked CBSA to explain their decision to unilaterally halt the training PSAC-CIU and CBSA had agreed to with no explanation in March.
We return to the bargaining table next month and will continue to push the government and CBSA to act responsibly, work with our union, and do the right thing.
Keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates about bargaining. If you have any questions, please contact your branch president or your PSAC regional office.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
While we were scheduled to return to the table this week, April 25-27, our FB bargaining team notified the employer we won’t be meeting, in solidarity with the more than 155,000 fellow PSAC members working for Treasury Board and the Canada Revenue Agency who are currently on strike.
We previously made it clear, when we last met with the employer in March, that we would not meet in the event members from the PA, SV, TC, EB, and PSAC-UTE groups were on picket lines.
“It’s clear that the ongoing generational labour actions by PSAC members will lay the foundation for future gains for all Canadian workers, including FB members,” said the FB bargaining team. “We do not sit at a table with an employer who treats our fellow members with the disrespect that Treasury Board has displayed. We will only meet with the employer once they give striking members the fair contract they deserve.”
More than 2,500 PSAC-CIU members are part of the PA group and are currently on strike. They perform administrative and other non-law-enforcement duties, supporting frontline operations across the country. These members play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of border processes, and they need the support of all PSAC-CIU members. Now more than ever, there is power in solidarity.
While you can’t walk off the job or refuse to perform your usual duties, you can support your colleagues in other ways. Wear your swag at work, volunteer for phone banks during off-work hours, and any other mobilization activity that doesn’t impact your work schedule.
You can also join PSAC members on the picket lines during off-work hours, like before or after work, on your lunch break, or when you’re off duty. Find the nearest picket line using PSAC’s picket line finder tool.
Review the PSAC strike FAQ here. Please be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates about bargaining. If you have any questions, please contact your branch president or your PSAC regional office.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
