YVR watching for potential impacts as Canadian border workers warn they could strike as soon as next week
Canadian border workers have voted in favour of job action which could start as early as next week, according to the union, and Vancouver-area officials are watching closely in case of impacts to travellers.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada and its Customs and Immigration Union says its members may strike as soon as Aug. 6, three days before fully-vaccinated U.S. citizens will be able to visit Canada without having to quarantine for two weeks.
Ninety per cent of Border Services Officers are deemed essential workers, meaning they cannot walk off the job. Any strike action would involve work deemed non-essential.
“Duties that are not essential would be collecting duties and taxes, providing information, providing guidance,” said Mark Webber, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union. “It could mean slow-downs at borders, it could mean slow downs for Canada Post parcels and courier, essentially any activity that doesn’t directly affect the safety and security of Canadians.”
The members employed by the CBSA and Treasury Board began holding strike votes in June, after they had been without a contract for nearly three years and talks broke off between the two sides in December.
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/you-ll-see-disruptions-union-warns-strike-vote-could-jeopardize-border-reopening-1.5464921
Long-term issues like wage parity with other law enforcement agencies, paid breaks and a toxic workplace culture have been sticking points in negotiations, according to the union.
“We are not a good place to work and we want to see that addressed, people shouldn’t be going into work scared,” Webber said, adding there are also issues around scheduling.
“The CBSA wants, essentially, our jobs to matter more than our families. They want our shift change notice down from seven days to 48 hours, they want non-negotiated schedules so imposing the times we work at 24/7 operations rather than choosing the times that we work.”
The union is now waiting for a report from the Public Interest Commission, a non-binding, mandatory part of the bargaining process. Webber expects the report to be handed down this week and any job action can begin seven days later.
CBSA declined CTV News’s request for interview, instead issuing a statement. In part it reads, “The CBSA, as a dynamic and responsive organization that delivers high quality border services, will respond quickly to any job action/work disruption in order to maintain the safety and security of our border, ensure compliance with our laws, and keep the border open to legitimate travellers and goods… Ninety per cent (90%) of Border Services Officers have been identified as essential, meaning that they will continue to offer essential services if there is a strike. We expect that our officers will continue to fulfill their duties with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.”
A spokesperson for the Vancouver International Airport also wrote in an emailed statement: “We understand that 90 per cent of Border Services Officers are essential and will continue to offer essential services should there be a strike. The efficient journey through YVR is our priority as we welcome back more international travellers under Canada’s safe, risk-based and measured approach to re-opening Canada’s borders. We will continue to work with our partners and will monitor any potential impact should there be job action.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.