THUNDER BAY – Customs officers will hold a 45-minute picket on Monday in front of the Canada Border Services Agency on North May Street.
In a release issued on Thursday by the Customs and Immigration Union, organizers of the demonstration say union members have been without a contract for three years and eight months.
“These men and women protect Canadians every day and deserve to be treated fairly,” the release states.
Demands include a 25-and-out pension which would allow membership to retire after 25 years of service without penalty with a 50 per cent entitlement, which they say is standard at most law enforcement organizations, including the Correctional Services of Canada and the RCMP.
They’re also seeking wage parity with other law enforcement agencies and protection from jobs being replaced by machines, citing increased used of primary inspection kiosks at airports.
“Officers keep people safe, not machines, and we need assurances in our contract that officers will not be replaced by the implementation of such sub-standard technologies,” union officials said.
Other issues include the contracting out of work and stronger provisions surrounding variable shift scheduling arrangements.
“We are currently awaiting the results of a non-binding arbitration process, or Public Interest Commission, and expect the CBSA to return to the table soon after. However, we have yet to see any major steps forward on the issues referenced above.
“CIU/PSAC is demonstrating to remind Canadians that Border Officers keep the country’s borders safe, and that they deserve to be treated equally like other law enforcement officers by this government.”
