Canada Border Services Agency officers are seeking a new contract from the federal government.
Joey Dunphy, national vice-president for the Customs and Immigration Union, says CBSA officers have been without a contract for two years.
“We’ve been in negotiation with the Treasury Board of Canada. Everything we bring forward is a big no! So we are here demanding respect. We’re a law enforcement organization. We are the second biggest armed forces in Canada. We are asking to be treated as such.”
Dunphy says some of the things they are asking for include paid meal breaks and a 25 and out policy, which allows people to retire without penalty after 25 years of service.
He notes the last time it took them four years to negotiate a contact and when they actually signed the deal it had already expired.
The union represents 11,000 agents across the country.
Liberal MP Wayne Long says he’s heard the agents concerns and he will be bringing them to Ottawa when the house sits later this month.
Long says the workers requests are reasonable and the dispute is not about wages it’s about respect from the government.
