Union for CBSA workers extends deadline for job action at borders as mediation continues | CBC News

Workers at ports of entry across Canada will go about business as usual over the coming days.

A strike and any job action by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) workers were averted by the 4 p.m. ET Friday deadline, as union leadership and the government extended mediation talks until Wednesday. 

“I’m hopeful we can reach a deal and avoid disruptions at Canada’s borders,” Mark Weber, Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) national president, said in a media release.

“Our members are essential — protecting our borders, preventing auto theft and stopping illegal drugs and firearms from entering Canada — and they deserve a fair contract that treats them with respect and dignity in line with other law enforcement agencies across the country.”

News of the extended deadline is a reprieve for commuters, industry and small businesses who’ve expressed concerns about long, costly delays at Canada-U.S. borders.

In a statement, the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada said the government has “committed to remain at the table to continue negotiations.”

“To date, discussions have been productive, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that is fair and reasonable for members of the Border Services Group as quickly as possible,” the statement read. 

Over 9,000 workers, who have been in a legal strike position since Thursday, could be part of any eventual job action. They include employees at airports, and land and marine ports of entry.

The CIU, which is affiliated with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and the CBSA have been in mediation since Monday.

Workers have been without a contract since the last one expired two years ago.

Being in a legal strike position doesn’t necessarily mean CBSA workers will walk out after the deadline passes.

About 90 per cent of the border workers are deemed essential, the CBSA said in a statement. That means they must continue to do their jobs, but are free to participate in job action outside their working hours.

As part of any job action, a work-to-rule campaign is a strong possibility, an associate professor says.   

“You can create tremendous lineups of those trucks and tremendous lineups of people,” said Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business at Ottawa’s Carleton University. “It’ll be very, very disruptive if they do work-to-rule because so many people cross that border every day.” 

The union has noted job protections, pensions and automation as issues at the bargaining table. But they’re also looking to secure wage parity with other law enforcement agencies, as well as the “25 and out” retirement provision.