Over 9,000 workers at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will begin to vote on a strike mandate, starting Wednesday.
“Our members at Canada Border Services Agency have waited long enough,” said Chris Aylward, Public Service Alliance of Canada’s national president. “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.”
The voting period is set to last until May 15.
This means employees at border crossings like the Rainbow Bridge as well as customs officers at the airport will have a month and a few days to decide whether they support strike action, if a deal cannot be reached in the coming weeks.
PSAC says they reached an impasse in bargaining back in September of last year after almost two years of negotiations.
Some of the main sticking points include wage parity, job security, access to remote work and protections around being contracted out.
It also calls out a “toxic workplace culture” that takes a heavy-handed approach to discipline.
“The use of automated systems, untrained student workers and contracting out means higher costs, more risk, and reduced quality of services for Canadians,” PSAC said.
Today’s vote also coincides with the first of two days of a public interest commission hearing.
The union and employer will outline their position on outstanding issues and a report will be issued with non-binding recommendations for reaching a deal.
If members vote in favour of a strike, they’ll be in a legal strike position following the report’s release.
The nationwide strike vote will take place starting April 10 until May 15.
CHCH News has reached out to the union and employer for more comment.
READ MORE: Borders workers could strike Friday if new bargaining deal is not reached
This isn’t the first time the union has considered striking.
A similar instance took place in August 2021.
After nearly two years of negotiations, CBSA employees began their work-to-rule strike and were able to strike a deal — only after cross-border traffic began to back up and cause significant delays.
The strike in 2021 led the union to secure a 2 percent year-over-year increase in its collective agreement, acquire a paid meal allowance for uniformed members, establish new leave allowances, and create a new committee focused on tackling workplace culture problems.
-With files from Simone Gavros