Canadian border workers could begin job action today. Here's what you need to know

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) workers across the country could take job action beginning this afternoon unless a deal is reached before the strike deadline.

Here's what you need to know: 

Over 9,000 workers with CBSA, out of about 11,000 total workers, could be part of the job action.

It would include CBSA employees at airports and land and marine ports of entry.

They are represented by the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), which is affiliated with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

The union has set a deadline of 4 p.m. E.T. today. If no deal is reached by that time, the union says workers will take job action immediately. 

While the workers would be on strike, it doesn't mean they'll be off the job.

About 90 per cent of workers represented by the union are deemed essential, the CBSA said in a statement. That means they must continue to do their jobs, but are free to participate in job action outside their working hours. 

Possible job action could include "work to rule," when workers could apply each and every one of their job's rules and regulations. 

"You can create tremendous lineups of those trucks and tremendous lineups of people. It'll be very, very disruptive if they do work-to-rule because so many people cross that border every day," said Ian Lee, an associate professor in the Sprott School of Business at Ottawa's Carleton University. 

For example, border officers could ask people, in each and every car, all of the questions permissible at a border crossing. 

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat said that under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, employees deemed essential have to provide uninterrupted service and "cannot intentionally slow down border processing."

The union says workers will begin job action if no deal is reached by 4 p.m., after workers voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action. 

Both parties started a mediation process on Monday.