The union representing Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers staged a rally at the Peace Arch (Douglas) border crossing Wednesday to draw the public鈥檚 attention to its ongoing contract negotiations with the federal government.
Starting at noon, dozens of union members sporadically blocked southbound traffic to the border while motorists honked their horns.
The Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada are 鈥渄emanding a fair wage increase that keeps up with inflation, better protections for members from CBSA management, and improved work-life balance.鈥�
The union, according to a news release, is also asking CBSA to support pension reform, allowing officers to retire after 25 years of service without penalty, as is the case for other law-enforcement agencies.
CIU national president Jean-Pierre Fortin, who is based out of Ottawa but attended Wednesday鈥檚 rally, told Peace Arch News that the pension is a 鈥渒ey issue鈥� in its bargaining.
鈥淲e have to keep in mind that the CBSA is the second-biggest law enforcement organization鈥� in Canada. So we just want to be treated as such,鈥� he said. Fortin said the last round of bargaining took four years to come to an agreement on a 鈥渄ecent contract,鈥� and CIU is now in its second year of bargaining for a new contract.
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Although the border was fully operational Wednesday, Fortin said CIU will 鈥渋n the very near future鈥� assess 鈥減ressure tactics.鈥�
鈥淎nd it could certainly impact, you know, the public in general,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we want to send a very clear message to the government to start bargaining.鈥�
Wednesday鈥檚 rally marked the third the union has staged across the country, including two previous protests in New Brunswick and Ontario.
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