Tag Archives: FB group

FB bargaining: No trust in CBSA; team rejects concessions to hours of work

The FB bargaining team continued their push to make Canada Border Services Agency a better place to work during talks with Treasury Board/CBSA the week of January 20, but the employer still refuses to budge on any meaningful improvements.

Our team highlighted issues around:

Name tags

The employer still insists that officers must display their names on name tags. Our team reiterated that this practice puts officers at risk and is unacceptable.

Medical notes

Our bargaining team firmly opposes the need for medical notes when employees are sick. CBSA shouldn’t be asking employees to provide medical notes, and if the Agency wants one provided, they should reimburse members for it.

Paid meal period

The employer rejected our proposal for a paid meal period, but we’re maintaining our position. Officers have to tool-up and tool-down for lunch; otherwise they have to wear their tools during lunch. Given this reality, meal periods should be paid like other law enforcement agencies.
Paid time for firearm practice: Our team is seeking to have paid firearm practice time provided to officers under the collective agreement equivalent to two shifts per year.

Seniority and work location

There are significant problems with the way management assigns officers to new locations. Across Canada, there are officers who are looking to work in different parts of the country. But right now, management passes over senior officers for these assignments and even places new hires in locations where union members are looking to work. We are seeking a fair and transparent process where officers can exercise their seniority if they wish to change districts or regions.

Telework

We again raised the issue of telework for our non-uniformed members. Our team does not understand why CBSA chiefs and superintendents get their telework approved regularly, while non-frontline staff who require an accommodation are denied telework. This is yet another example of the double standard at CBSA, where management gets preferential treatment over employees. We want language in the contract to address this issue.

VSSAs

CBSA is proposing that VSSAs should no longer be negotiated, but rather run through a ‘consultation’ process with our union. All too often at CBSA, ‘consultation’ means ‘impose’. We told CBSA “No” and rejected their proposal. Our team doesn’t trust CBSA management with our hours of work.

We also discussed student issues, the dog hander allowance and reiterated our position concerning pension reform.

To review the package of proposals that we tabled as well as those of the employer, visit: psacunion.ca/fb-group. We’ll continue to provide updates during our next bargaining session the week of February 23. To see other updates on Treasury Board bargaining, check out psacunion.ca/treasury-board.

We stand for law enforcement

Together as FBs, we’ve achieved incredible victories over the years. PSAC is the largest union in the federal public service, and one of the largest public sector unions in the country. No other union has more experience in bargaining and representation within the federal public service than PSAC and CIU.

We successfully won the right for Border Services Officers to be armed in 2006.
Since 2007, PSAC-CIU successfully negotiated a 48% increase in compensation for frontline BSO, including a 17.5% raise in 2018.
We won significant new rights for shift workers, including protections in the context of VSSA negotiations and seniority rights.

Standing together, we will continue to work together and hold the CBSA’s feet to the fire to ensure we can continue to make groundbreaking gains for FB members.

The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.

2007: Creation of the FB group

As a show of support for our FB bargaining team returning to the table this week, we present our first vignette on union victories: The creation of the FB group, in 2007.

If border officers have a distinct voice today, it is thanks to the continued pressure and efforts of CIU and the support of PSAC. After years of lobbying by the union and its members, a stand-alone FB group was created in 2007, giving front-line personnel their own collective agreement and paving the way for true recognition as law enforcement. Prior to the FB group, these members were part of the much larger PA group. With this new structure, they took control of their own bargaining and representation.

Since the creation of the FB group, CIU and PSAC have succeeded in securing a remarkable 48% increase in compensation for front-line officers – the largest increase for law enforcement personnel achieved by any union in Canada since 2007.

Photo of BSO and dog with text explaining the creation of the FB group (same text as on the page)

Click for full-size version.

For more union victories, see this page, and follow us on social media using #CIUvictories.

Border Services Bargaining to Begin in January

With bargaining input gathered from every CIU branch across Canada and our FB Bargaining Team now elected and in place, PSAC has proposed dates in January to the Treasury Board to commence negotiations for a new FB collective agreement. An update will be provided once dates are confirmed. We look forward to getting back to the bargaining table and making CBSA a better place to work.

November 21, 2018 update: Last Friday, PSAC and Treasury Board confirmed that the parties will exchange proposals and commence negotiations for a new collective agreement for the Border Services (FB) group the week of January 7th, 2019.

Stay up to date with bargaining news by visiting the PSAC’s Border Services bargaining webpage, or sign up to receive the PSAC’s e-News.

A version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.

FB Bargaining: Members of Equity Groups Encouraged to Apply to Upcoming Conference

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is issuing a call-out for equity group members to attend the Border Services (FB) National Bargaining Conference. PSAC equity activists (Indigenous Peoples, racialized workers, LGBTQ2+ members, and members with disabilities), Regional Women’s Committee (RWC) members, and young worker activists (35 years old or younger) are encouraged to apply:

FB National Bargaining Conference

October 10 – 12, 2018
Marriott Residence Inn, 161 Laurier Street, Ottawa, ON
Component: Customs and Immigration Union (CIU)

Bargaining conferences bring together members to discuss and prioritize the issues that will be negotiated during the upcoming rounds of collective bargaining.

The participation of all groups is critical. We especially encourage equity group members, young workers and RWC members to participate in these upcoming conferences to ensure important equity issues are represented at the bargaining table.

How to apply

To attend the FB National Bargaining Conference:

delegates must be employed by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA),
hold office in CIU, or
demonstrate evidence of union activism.

Please submit your application before August 17, 2018 to be considered for the upcoming conference.

A version of this article was posted on the PSAC website.

Union, Employer Setting Dates to Return to the Bargaining Table

On Friday March 9, 2018, our PSAC Negotiator for the FB group was contacted by the Treasury Board and told that the employer has a new mandate. As a result, we are in the process of setting dates to return to the bargaining table during the week of March 19.

Thanks to all of the CIU-PSAC members at CBSA from coast to coast to coast for participating in our ongoing mobilization activities. Updates will be provided as things progress.