Cyber-defence workers vote to go on strike
OTTAWA–Workers at Canada’s cyber-defence agency have voted to strike at a time when the intelligence community is warning cybersecurity threats are on the rise.
Approximately 2,400 of the Communications Security Establishment’s 2,900 employees voted to strike after talks between the agency’s union and management broke down this month. At issue is the cyberdefence employees’ “market allowance” — a salary top-up that brings their salaries closer to what they would make in the private sector.
“(Union) members at CSE are some of the best minds in their fields and it’s baffling that management has chosen to let things get to this point,” said Public Service Alliance of Canada’s vice-president, Alex Silas.
Silas said the union’s demand to increase the market allowance equates to “roughly 0.8 per cent of payroll” at the agency, which had a $780-million budget last year.
The issue of compensation at the CSE is complicated. Boasting a highly educated workforce with skills that are increasingly in demand, the agency faces a difficult task in recruiting and retaining workers, some of whom might make considerably more money in the private sector.
CSE management said it has “essential service agreements” with its workforce to ensure Canadian networks are not defenceless during the strike.
The labour unrest at Canada’s cyber-defence and electronic espionage agency comes as the number of online threats targeting Canadians are expanding.
In its 2020 cyber-threat assessment, the CSE noted the number of “cyber threat actors” is growing and their attempts to hack Canadians are becoming more sophisticated.
“The commercial sale of cyber tools coupled with a global pool of talent has resulted in more threat actors and more sophisticated threat activity,” the agency noted.