Ottawa, ON – Less than a week after IAM lobby seeking changes to the CATSA Dispute Resolution Process, the Liberal government came under fire in the House of Commons question period asking for those changes.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) legislation subjects airport screening officers across Canada to an unfair Dispute Resolution Process that is arbitrary and infringes on the most basic of principles in labour relations – the right to appeal and the right of unionized workers. In the House of Commons, Scott Duval, NDP MPP for Hamilton Mountain, unveiled examples of the unfair dispute resolution process and asked the government to change it…
On May 28th, more than forty IAM Airport Security Screeners lobbied parliamentarians from all parties to change the legislation. “Our member’s stories have real-life consequences,” said Rick Singh, President of IAM Local 16 in British Columbia. “CATSA arbitrarily de-endorses us without us having an appeals process. They de-endorse for long periods of time which affects our mortgages, our kids’ education, and our very lives.” Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is Canada’s largest. Rajiv Mohan, President of IAM Local 2921 and representing roughly 2,500 Screening Officers had this to say, “Our members came to Ottawa to finally get justice in terms of having a voice. Justice delayed is justice denied. We cannot wait any longer.”
Derek Ferguson, Special Representative responsible for Political Action is clear about the purpose of gathering in Ottawa to lobby. “The IAM came to Ottawa to let our elected representatives know that Screening Officers across Canada deserve a fair, timely, transparent dispute resolution process. They deserve the same right to appeal decisions as all other workers.”
The many testimonials the IAM has heard from Screening Officers obliged us to move quickly to make sure our voices are heard by Members of Parliament before the next election. “We know our voice must be heard in order that Screening Offices get the fair and timely dispute resolution process they need and deserve,” explained IAM Canadian General Vice President Stan Pickthall. “It’s what most Canadians have, it’s time Screeners did too.”
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