Just as the summer travel season gets into gear, Canadians and visitors could find themselves waiting in long lines at the border — delays that could also deal a blow to the economy.
The union says similar action three years ago “nearly brought commercial cross-border traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country.”
Union members could use work-to-rule, a tactic where employees do their jobs exactly as outlined in their contracts.
Ian Lee, an associate professor at Carleton University’s school of business, said that means a border crossing could take much longer than it usually does. That wouldn’t just be a problem for tourists, but disrupt the economy, given $2.5 billion a day in goods crosses the border, he said.
The Treasury Board says “employees in essential services positions must provide uninterrupted border services. They cannot work to rule and they cannot intentionally slow down border processing.”
But Mr. Lee noted border workers have broad discretion when it comes to asking questions. He said it’s unclear how the government can argue a guard is “breaking the law by using their full discretion and authority.”
Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, said there is a logistical barrier to the government taking action. She pointed out that work-to-rule means following job duties to the letter.
“People would be doing their work, albeit very thoroughly. How can you discipline people for following procedure?”
Ms. Ross said work-to-rule can be very effective.
A border crossing where it might take an extra 10 minutes to get across because the officer is doing everything by the book can “have an enormous disruptive effect magnified by the thousands of individuals, semi-trailers, various kinds of transport coming into Canada,” she said.
Mark Weber, the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, which is part of PSAC, said work-to-rule could be disruptive, but the union is “not there yet.”
Mr. Weber said members want pay parity with other law enforcement agencies, with the union looking to how much first-level RCMP constables are paid for comparison.
Other issues include pension benefits and protections around “heavy-handed discipline,” Mr. Weber said.
Another concern for the union is technology taking over jobs officers would be doing otherwise, like the kiosks that have popped up at Canadian airports.
He said that amounts to “almost waiting for smugglers to self-declare with no officers present, which from a national security point of view is extremely concerning.”
And there’s the link to the public service unions’ fight over work-from-home arrangements.
Ottawa recently announced that federal employees must work from the office at least three days a week, starting in September. Public service unions responded by pledging a “summer of discontent” over the new policy.
Mr. Weber said telework is a key issue for the union, and more than 2,000 of its members work remotely or did so previously, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The union wants to see work from home enshrined in the collective agreement.
He said the government previously promised to set up panels and consult on work-from-home arrangements, and then broke its promise by announcing the three-day-a-week mandate for everyone.
That means the union would be skeptical if government only offers another letter of understanding. “What value does that have anymore?” Mr. Weber said.
“We remain at the bargaining table, committed to negotiating a deal that is fair to employees and reasonable to the Canadian taxpayer,” Treasury Board spokesperson Martin Potvin said in a statement.
“With a shared commitment to good faith bargaining, we are optimistic that an agreement can be reached quickly.”
The workers have been negotiating without a collective agreement for two years, meaning, Ms. Ross noted, “there’s a lot of built up frustration around their wages falling behind.”
She said this is the moment where the two sides are waiting to see which one is willing to blink.
The government might not believe the union “has enough organization and unity to pull off a work to rule that would be disruptive,” she said.
But they might find out. We all might find out.”