Border workers declare temporary truce

OTTAWA, (Oct. 19, 2004) — Canada Customs workers and border inspectors have announced they will put down their picket signs until they can vote on a final offer from the federal government.

The Customs and Excise Union representing the workers — which held a three-day work-to-rule campaign and informational pickets at several Southern Ontario border crossings last week — has declared a temporary truce in the labour dispute.

The Customs and Excise Union is part of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, representing 125,000 members across Canada that have been in a legal strike position since Oct. 7.

However, unlike their civil service colleagues at departments like Immigration and Revenue Canada, front-line border guards are deemed essential workers and cannot walk off the job. Instead, on-duty officers took their time processing truck traffic, while off-duty employees staged pickets.

The pickets targeted truck traffic crossing into Canada, creating two-kilometre-long lineups, and up to four-hour delays at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ont. and Buffalo, N.Y.

Canadian Press reports the union isn’t too impressed with the government’s offer, but wants to allow its members to vote on it anyway. The union says the vote could take up to six weeks.

The sticking issue is the government’s plan to freeze salaries of some of the 7,000 employees who were moved to the new Canada Border Services Agency from Canada Revenue Agency last year.

Border officers say they want their pay to be more in-line with U.S. border guards that, they claim, do essentially the same job just half a kilometre away.

— with files from Canadian Press