Canadian Cybersecurity Workers Vote to Strike

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is advocating for higher wages for Canadian cybersecurity workers. (Flickr)

A majority of employees at Canada’s cybersecurity agency voted to strike over a pay dispute between their union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), and their employer, Communications Security Establishment (CSE). The union represents around 2,400 workers out of the CSE’s total workforce of 2,900. Their disagreement is over a provision that would pay CSE employees a supplement based on what they could make in the private sector. 

Union leaders say the supplement is necessary to prevent a “brain drain” of talented cybersecurity experts choosing lucrative private jobs. “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,” wrote PSAC vice president Alex Silas. 

Meanwhile, CSE management worries that a strike could have negative consequences for Canada’s national security. CSE spokesperson Christopher Williams said that the agency stands behind its offer to provide supplemental pay for around a third of its employees and assured the public that an emergency agreement protects “activities associated with the safety and security of Canada and Canadians in the event of a strike.”

The vote comes when Canada’s intelligence services are already making headlines. Last month, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) called China “a direct threat” to his country’s sovereignty. “The government of China is pursuing a strategy for geopolitical advantage on all fronts,” asserted CSIS Director David Vigneault during a virtual event, “and using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security.” Last year, the CSE listed China as one of the gravest cybersecurity threats to Canada, along with countries like North Korea and Russia. 

Vigneault also called for increased powers for spy agencies to collect foreign intelligence, following a court ruling that blocked certain CSIS warrants. The redacted decision does not reveal specific details such as the countries involved in the case, but the court ruled that Section 16 of the CSIS Act only allows the agency to spy on foreign targets from inside Canada.

Between the strike, the CSIS director’s call for an overhaul of intelligence policies and a government watchdog’s report that social distancing policies have dangerously slowed down spy agencies’ ability to do their work, Canada’s national security apparatus is struggling under the strain of multiple new threats.