Security screeners stage 'Casual Monday' protest at Atlantic Canadian airports
Security screeners at 42 airports across Canada are taking job action Monday in protest of wages and working hours.
The security screeners will dress in casual clothing instead of their uniforms for the “Casual Monday” protest.
The United Steelworkers union, which represents most security screeners, says staff at 15 airports in Atlantic Canada, including St. John’s, Charlottetown, Halifax and Moncton, are taking part.
“There are so many screening officers that have quit because of low pay and poor working conditions that the airports are severely understaffed,” David Lipton, representative of the United Steelworkers union in Ottawa, told CTV National News.
Tiffany Chase, a spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, says the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority has assured the airport that the silent protest will not affect operations in Halifax, which is the largest airport in Atlantic Canada.
The USW says many of its members are being forced to work 16 to 17 hour days as a result of staffing shortages.
In Ottawa, Lipton says there should be 350 screeners, and they’re currently operating with about 210 on the floor.
“Workers are working hours and hours and hours without breaks, in many cases with forced overtime,” he said. “Their rates of pay are just not up to par. Many senior employees are leaving to find other employment as a result.”
The challenges faced by security screeners are coming at a time when staffing is so short that some unions are offering staff hundreds of dollars a week if they don’t take a vacation or sick days. The union says improving working hours and conditions needs to happen as soon as possible.
With some experts raising caution about new Omicron subvariants, and the vaccine mandate dropping for domestic flights on Monday, there is concern that this could lead to even more staff leaving the job.
The union says improving working hours and conditions needs to happen as soon as possible.
Monday’s job action is not expected to impact security waits and won’t take place in Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary, where staff are under a different union.
The federal government announced last week that it is aware of the delays and is working on solutions, adding that nearly 900 screening officers have been hired since April across Canada.
With Files from CTVNews.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.