Transport committee  Many technologies have already been added to airports, such as body scanners. However, the fact remains that the final check is done by humans putting questions to other humans. So while technology can make the job of screening officers easier, I don't think it can replace them,

Transport committee  In my opinion, if we don't change course in the negotiations on the working conditions of all screening officers in Canada, we will almost certainly go through the same scenario as last summer, as the conditions are the same. There was a reason for the labour shortage that we exp

Transport committee  The key factor that enables unions to provide employers with guidance is the fact that we know what people need. Of course, there is the financial aspect, but there is also the quality of life aspect. Unions are often mobilized when people have problems in their workplace. So if

Transport committee  Yes, that is the case now. I don't know the exact workforce retention rate, but I do know that we would have to hire a number of employees to get a sufficient pool of workers in a few months. If we hire 30 people, it would be surprising if they were all still with us in six mon

Transport committee  Apart from salary conditions, insurance and the pension plan, it is mostly about the pressure they have to endure and the rotating schedules, which vary according to operational needs. This makes it difficult for many officers to balance work and family. There is much that could

Transport committee  People who work at the airport now certainly don't have a big pension plan. That may give them an incentive to stay on the job, but the benefits have to outweigh the drawbacks. You'll understand that, if the work is too hard, people will leave, even if you give them a tax credit

Transport committee  Under the current regime, the government needs to give employee representatives access to CATSA. That is the organization with the federal mandate to invest in airports and security. Most of our demands have to do with money, because that's where the quickest impact is felt. How

Transport committee  In the spring, I was surprised to hear that the delays in airports were due to the fact that people had forgotten how to travel. The real problem is the lack of staff, and it hasn't been fixed. Right now isn't a great time to travel. The Montreal airport is short a hundred or so

Transport committee  The competition for skilled workers is definitely fierce. Employees have rotating schedules, seven days a week; they have no choice. The pay is less and less competitive. When there are lineups, the public is often impatient, and rightfully so. Employees are constantly being mon

Transport committee  The first thing I would say is that employee representatives weren't involved in negotiating the bonus CATSA provided. The United Steelworkers union represents workers at 42 airports. The bonus program was brought in unilaterally. That money could have been used to negotiate fai

Transport committee  Yes, that's exactly right. What complicates things is that, in Canada, CATSA contracts out the work to three agencies, Allied Universal Security Services, Securitas and GardaWorld, putting CATSA in the position of client. Fortunately, this year, we managed to bring together the

Transport committee  The real issue is the power imbalance with the subcontractors. There used to be a set model. In other words, the wages paid in small airports were comparable, and those paid in the big airports were a bit higher. Place of work aside, you can appreciate that, in Montreal, the com

Transport committee  Immediate investments are needed to improve working conditions. It's not just about attracting new workers. It's also about not losing the workers and expertise we have now. The reason you're seeing lineups is that we've lost experienced people. The first step is to invest in be

Transport committee  The Government of Canada must give CATSA the funding required to immediately improve screening officers' working conditions.

Transport committee  In an ideal world, screening officers would be Government of Canada employees. That would make a huge difference in their working conditions. If that change in policy doesn't happen, at the very least, worker representatives should be allowed to negotiate working conditions with