To support your FB bargaining team members, we encourage you to download and use your team’s virtual background for all your work meetings and swap out your social media profile picture.
I support my bargaining team
I’m voting yes to strike
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
Our members at Canada Border Services Agency have waited long enough. You’ve been without a collective agreement since 2022 as you’ve seen your wages stall and the cost of living rise. Yet CBSA still isn’t prepared to negotiate an agreement that protects our members, and continues to demand concessions at the bargaining table.
That’s why PSAC and CIU will be conducting a nationwide strike vote for the FB group April 10 to May 15, ramping up the pressure on CBSA in advance of our Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearings later this month.
Our FB bargaining team is committed to reaching a fair contract that protects our hard-fought gains in previous rounds of bargaining and provides new rights and protections for our more than 9,000 PSAC-CIU members. Over the past two years of negotiations, our team has fought for wage parity with the broader law enforcement community, stronger job security, access to telework, and protections around contracting out – but CBSA management continues to insist on concessions.
While strike votes are underway, Public Interest Commission hearings will take place April 10 and 22 with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, where PSAC and CBSA will outline our positions on the outstanding issues, and the PIC will issue a report with non-binding recommendations for reaching a settlement.
If you vote in favour of a strike mandate, PSAC will be in a legal strike position seven days after the PIC releases its recommendations.
We saw what we could achieve last round when we came together – by bringing international borders to a standstill August 6, 2021 through work-to-rule action, we secured important gains for our members, without concessions.
We strongly urge you to vote in favour of a strike mandate to once again show CBSA management that we are prepared to take job action to reach a fair deal at the bargaining table.
We’ve also made it clear that if this government is serious about achieving a new collective agreement, Treasury Board President Anita Anand must honour the commitment made during the last round of bargaining and make equitable 25-and-out retirement a reality for FB members. Law enforcement personnel at CBSA deserve the same treatment and retirement benefits as their counterparts in other law enforcement agencies.
To give you as many opportunities as possible to participate in the vote, we’ll be holding strike sessions virtually with national sessions open to everyone.
Your voting credentials will be sent to your personal, non-work email or by mail to your home address if we don’t have a personal email on file. You will need these credentials to register for a strike vote session.
If you haven’t received your voting credentials by email or regular mail, you may need to update your contact information before you can register to vote.
In Solidarity,
Chris Aylward
PSAC national president
Mark Weber
CIU national president
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) who work at Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will be conducting a strike vote across the country starting April 10, 2024.
After almost two years of negotiations, PSAC declared impasse in bargaining in September 2023 after CBSA refused to budge on key issues like wages in line with other law enforcement agencies, better job security, access to telework, and protections from contracting out.
“Workers at CBSA have waited long enough,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “Our members have been without a collective agreement since 2022. While wages have stalled and the cost of living has risen, CBSA has refused to negotiate an agreement that protects workers and continues to demand concessions at the bargaining table.”
While strike votes are underway, PSAC and CBSA are proceeding to Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearings April 10 and 22 with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.
Following the PIC hearings, the commission will release its non-binding recommendations to reach an agreement. If members vote in favour of a strike mandate, PSAC will be in a legal strike position seven days after the board releases its report.
Workers at CBSA are also still waiting for the government to make good on a pledge to provide CBSA law enforcement personnel with the same retirement benefits – 25 and out –as other law enforcement and public safety workers.
“If the government is serious about achieving a new collective agreement, Anita Anand, President of Treasury Board, must also honour the commitment made during the last round of bargaining and make equitable retirement a reality for our members,” said Mark Weber, CIU national president. “Law enforcement personnel at CBSA deserve the same treatment and retirement benefits as their counterparts in other law enforcement agencies.”
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is one of Canada’s largest unions, representing nearly 230,000 workers in every province and territory in Canada, including more than 120,000 federal public service workers employed by Treasury Board and another 45,000 working for federal government agencies, including Canada Border Services Agency.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is launching nationwide strike votes for more than 120,000 federal public service workers after talks broke down over wages and other key issues. Strike votes for members in the Program and Administrative Services, Operational Services, Technical Services, and Education and Library Science bargaining groups will be conducted from February 22 to April 19, 2023.
“Everyone deserves fair pay and safer workplaces. Together, we’re taking a stand for workers,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC national president. “Wages are stalled, the cost of living is rising, and workers are being left behind. Workers can’t wait. None of us can.”
After more than a year of negotiations, PSAC declared impasse in bargaining in May 2022 after the government made a wage offer of 2.06% per year that’s completely out of touch with record-high inflation over the past two years. The government then refused to compromise during mediation in September and Public Interest Commission (PIC) hearings in December.
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is expected to release its PIC reports this winter with their non-binding recommendations to reach an agreement. After the Commission issues its reports, PSAC will be in a legal strike position if members vote in favour of a strike mandate.
“Federal public service workers have been here when Canadians needed them most – seeing us through one crisis after another,” said Aylward. “Now, the government needs to be here for workers, because while they stall on making things right, we all pay the price.”
PSAC and the Union of Taxation Employees (UTE) recently announced strike votes for 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency workers. In total, PSAC represents more than 165,000 federal public service workers at impasse in negotiations with the federal government moving towards job action to secure a contract that protects workers from the rising cost of living, offers better work-life balance, protection from harassment, racism and discrimination in the workplace and ends the contracting out of public service jobs.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is Canada’s largest federal public service union, representing nearly 230,000 workers in every province and territory in Canada, including more than 120,000 federal public service workers employed by Treasury Board. Our members are the backbone of Canada’s public services – protecting our borders, inspecting our food, providing vital social services and ensuring our vast lands and oceans are safe and sustainable.
This article was first 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.
