The union representing more than 9,000 Canada Border Services Agency employees says workers are set to strike on Friday if a deal is not reached with the federal government by then.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it has moved its strike deadline to Friday at 12:01 a.m. after extending negotiations with the Treasury Board last week.

Border workers were set to strike as early as 4 p.m. last Friday, but shortly after that deadline, a spokesperson for the union said negotiations would continue.

鈥淲e are still hopeful we can avoid a strike and potential disruptions at Canada鈥檚 borders,鈥� said Sharon DeSousa, PSAC鈥檚 national president, in a statement.

鈥淣o worker wants a strike, but we鈥檝e set a firm deadline for this government to come to the table with a fair agreement.鈥�

The union has warned that similar job action three years ago nearly brought commercial border traffic to a standstill and caused major delays across the country.

The government says 90 per cent of front-line border officers are designated as essential, which means they can鈥檛 stop working during a strike.

But union members can work-to-rule, and experts say that could cause serious slowdowns.

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