The Canadian Border Workers Union announced Friday afternoon that the use of pressure tactics has been suspended and that mediation with the employer will continue until Wednesday.
The more than 9,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who work for the Canada Border Services Agency had announced that they would go on strike at 4 p.m. on Friday if the process of mediation did not allow an agreement to be reached.
“All strike action by CBSA’s 9,000 employees is suspended as mediation continues (until) Wednesday. Pickets will not be in place until further notice. Stay tuned for more details,” the union finally announced in a press release shortly after 4 p.m.
The two parties have been in mediation since Monday.
The union says key issues include pay parity with other law enforcement agencies, teleworking, retirement benefits and enhanced workplace protections.
The government maintains that 90% of frontline border agents are designated essential, meaning they cannot stop working during a strike.
But union members might resort to over-zealing, a tactic in which employees do their jobs exactly as outlined in their contracts.
Experts believe this could make each border crossing take longer than normal and cause massive disruption to traffic.