Since the outset of bargaining, the FB bargaining team has been working on key issues for our members to reach a new collective agreement, including:

• Economic parity with the broader law-enforcement community for uniformed and non-uniformed member alike;
• Protections for our jobs and new protections in the context of CBSA management’s heavy-handed approach to discipline;
• Access to telework for our members;
• Protections around contracting out of our jobs such as machines, 3rd party contractors, and students.

It has been over 18 months and CBSA continues to refuse to move on these key issues. Instead, TB/CBSA continues to state that there is no recruitment or retention concerns while pushing for concessions at the table - like changing short shift-change notice to 48 hours instead of the currents 7 days, along with changes to negotiated shift schedules (VSSA) that would negatively impact you.

They want to negotiate the schedules nationally instead of locally which means the schedules would not take into consideration your operational realities or your individual work life balance needs and would be solely based on the operational needs.

Our bargaining team declared impasse in September, which means we are moving to a Public Interest Commission hearing, the next step in the process. The hearing is scheduled for April 2024. We’re using the time between now and April to mobilize and to get ready for potential job action.

It might be necessary to threaten strike action, it’ll show the government we’re prepared to fight for the working conditions we need. And a strong strike mandate is the best way to get the leverage we need to win a fair deal, while avoiding an actual strike.