‘Discontented’ Border Guards May Start Slowdown

(Dave Battagello — The Windsor Star)

Canada Customs officers are so disgruntled with the state of contract negotiations, they’re prepared to stage slowdowns that will make for “a long, hot summer” for commuters, vacationers and truckers at Windsor’s border crossings, a union leader said on Wednesday.

“The union is not calling for a work slowdown of any sort — but our members are really upset,” said Marie-Claire Coupal, 4th national vice-president and the former local union president for 550 customs officers in Windsor.

The union has been without a contract for almost a year and the two sides are far apart in negotiations on salary issues and work conditions.

“Our members are discontented enough to start a slowdown,” Coupal said. “We have no control — that’s the problem. They may take some of these things into their own hands.”

On the cusp of being required to carry firearms and with increasingly demanding work conditions in the new security era, their union has been calling for customs officers to be paid salaries comparable to police and correctional officers.

The union has been seeking a 29.3 per cent salary hike over three years, but the latest offer from the Canada Border Services Agency was for under two per cent annually over four years.

“We’ve done a comparison of work between different police agencies and that’s where we end up,” Coupal said. “That’s the market value.

“It sounds like a lot, but if you look at what we are taking on, it’s not out of line.”

Tracie Leblanc, a spokeswoman in Ottawa for the Canada Border Services Agency, would not comment on the state of negotiations, but issued a statement on the potential for a slowdown in Windsor and other border crossings: “The CBSA will respond quickly to any situation in order to maintain the security of our border and ensure that it remains open to legitimate travellers and goods.”

There are no talks scheduled between the two sides. Read the complete article.

Related: Province Editorial — “Pressure Points”