Contract disputes may disrupt air travel

Canadian border agents could strike later this week

- GHADA ALSHARIF

From potential strikes at the border to stalled contract negotiations with major airlines, the Canadian travel industry is facing a perfect storm of worker discontent that threatens to disrupt summer travel plans, with experts predicting labour disputes to continue for at least the next year.

Canadians and visitors could find themselves waiting in long lines at the border — delays that could also deal a blow to the economy — as more than 9,000 border service workers employed across the country by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) could go on strike as soon as Thursday.

The workers, who are represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s Customs and Immigration Union, have already secured a strike mandate and are in mediation with the Treasury Board, which oversees federal government spending and serves as the primary employer for public service workers.

The union will be a position to strike Thursday June 6, said Customs and Immigration Union president Mark Weber.

“What we do for strike action and when really depends largely on how things are going in mediation,” Weber said, adding that the union is still hopeful they can “come to a good deal” without having to go on strike.

Similar action three years ago “nearly brought commercial crossborder traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country,” according to the union.