The clock is ticking on a deal for Canada Border Services Agency workers.

They are set to walk off the job at 12:01 Friday morning if an agreement isn’t reached.

“We are still hopeful we can avoid a strike and potential disruptions at Canada’s borders,” said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President.” No worker wants a strike, but we’ve set a firm deadline for this government to come to the table with a fair agreement.”  

This affects more than 9000 Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Customs and Immigration Union members.  They include border services officers at airports, land entry points, marine ports, and commercial ports of entry, inland enforcement officers, intelligence officers, investigators, trade officers, and more than 2,000 non-uniformed headquarters staff. 

In 2021, job action by CBSA personnel nearly brought commercial cross-border traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country and a marathon 36-hour bargaining session to reach an agreement. 

Job action was postponed last Friday in the hopes of a contract.

“Our members have overwhelmingly told us they are ready to fight for equitable retirement, fair wages and to make CBSA a better place to work,” said Mark Weber, CIU National President.

The two sides remain in negotiations this week with the assistance of a mediator.