Thousands of Canada Border Services Agency workers are one step closer to a possible strike vote after talks broke off between Treasury Board and the Public Service Alliance of Canada as the federal government’s largest union fights for better compensation.
The union said in a news release on Sunday the two sides were at an impasse after three days of mediation…
Frontline CBSA workers have been without a contract since June 2014. This latest round of negotiations calls for compensation to be more aligned with other law enforcement agencies, such as the RCMP. The union is also demanding early retirement for CBSA workers and fairer discipline procedures.
Jean-Pierre Fortin, national president of the customs and immigration union, said border guards are the first line of defence in keeping Canadians safe and are now facing new concerns, like intercepting packages that contain the deadly opioid fentanyl…
The next step in the process is for a mediator to present arguments from both sides with a recommendation to the Public Interest Commission. If that fails, the union will move “slowly, but surely into a strike vote,” Fortin said.
PSAC represents more than 8,000 CBSA workers across Canada…
The agreement would see wages grow by 1.25 per cent each year for four years…
This was excerpted from 6 February 2017 edition of The Ottawa Citizen.