With time running out, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) reached a tentative agreement with the federal government, easing anxieties of thousands of permanent residents and American travellers as Canada prepares for an easing of border restrictions set to begin on Monday.
In a statement, Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents CBSA employees, said: "We are relieved that the CBSA and the government finally stepped up to address the most important issues for our members to avoid a prolonged labour dispute."
While most CBSA employees were designated "essential" and therefore unable to walk off the job, several thousand CBSA employees voted in favour of enforcing "work-to-rule'' job actions on Friday, saddling commercial and passenger vehicles wanting to cross the border with hours-long delays as government and union negotiators tried to strike an agreement
According to Global News, the terms of this tentative agreement include a 2.2 percent wage increase, "'better protections’ against 'excessive discipline' in the workplace," a federal committee to address "workplace culture problems," and paid meal allowances for staff. Border guards had been working without a long-term contract in place since 2018.
Initially, union members demanded an additional 4.4 percent, but the employer rejected the comparison. According to a public interest commission report, their employer previously posted 2.8, 2.2, and 1.5 percent increases in the first three years of a settlement.
"Finally — after three years of negotiations — we’ve resolved long-standing issues that will go a long way towards making CBSA a better, safer place to work for our members," said Customs and Immigration Union president Mark Weber.
The Treasury Board Secretariat, which oversees federal spending and is the primary employer in the public sector, called the offer "substantive" and in line with deals negotiated with other unionized public sector employees.
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