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Airline workers prepared to walk Union members vote in favour of strike mandate; bargaining deadline is Sept. 11
Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Updated Monday, September 9, 2013
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES/NUNAVUT
More than 100 airline workers in Nunavut and the NWT are prepared to walk off the job if union and Canadian North negotiators fail to reach an agreement by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 11.
A Rankin Inlet-bound Canadian North Boeing 737 taxis in the Yellowknife Airport. The company and Unifor Ahave until Sept. 11 to reach bargaining agreement. - NNSL file photo |
If an agreement is not reached by that night, the company can issue a 72-hour lockout notice or the union can issue a 72-hour strike notice, according to Unifor national representative and labour negotiator Bruce Snow.
Unifor is the name of the new union that represents the former Canadian Auto Workers and Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, which merged on Aug. 31.
The 139 Canadian North passenger service agents and cargo handlers with Unifor Airline local 2002 have been without a collective bargaining agreement since Dec. 31. Six previous rounds of negotiations between Feb. 14 and June 4 failed to achieve an agreement.
From Aug. 18 to 24, Snow and two other union negotiators met with workers in Yellowknife, Norman Wells, Inuvik, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit and Edmonton. Union members voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate by secret ballot during the meetings.
Snow declined to elaborate on the specific points of contention while negotiations with the company remain open.
However, according to an Aug. 26 communique issued by Unifor negotiators Aida Kirameddine of Edmonton and Theresa Amicarelli of Toronto, outstanding issues pertain to Northern Living Allowance, terms of vacation, and wages and premiums for certain positions.
During previous collective bargaining negotiations in 2009, the union permitted wages to remain lower than would have been achievable in the aviation industry at the time and relaxed its position on benefits and outsourcing in an effort to help the company build its bottom line, according to Snow.
"The union, wanting to be progressive, worked with the employer to collaborate on an agreement that gave that company the opportunity where we could assist them to become prosperous in the market," he said, adding the bargaining dynamics have changed in 2013. "They are prosperous, and now our members are due their fair share."
Canadian North employs 108 cargo workers and passenger service agents in the NWT and Nunavut, with another 31 affected workers in Edmonton.
The union and the company are scheduled to begin their latest negotiations in Edmonton at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, with assistance from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services under the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Snow said he is confident an agreement can be reached by as early as Tuesday night.
"We are confident that, with a 99 per cent strike mandate behind us, we have the support of our members to secure a fair and reasonable collective agreement," he
said.
Canadian North marketing manager Lisa Hicks was similarly optimistic.
"We have always reached agreements with all our bargaining units and anticipate the same outcome through this process," she stated in a Sept. 5 e-mail to News/North.
In a Sept. 6 news release, she added: "However, in the event of strike action, contingency plans are in place that will allow Canadian North's scheduled and charter operations to continue safely, reliably and without disruption."
Canadian North workers on strike notice in the NWT and Nunavut
- Iqaluit: 44 (16 cargo, 28 passenger service agents)
- Cambridge Bay: 8 (3 cargo handlers, 5 passenger service agents)
- Rankin Inlet: 2 (2 cargo handlers, zero passenger service agents)
- Yellowknife: 37 (11 cargo handlers, 26 passenger service agents)
- Norman Wells: 9 (6 cargo handlers, 3 passenger service agents)
- Inuvik: 8 ( 4 cargo handlers, 4 passenger service agents)
- Edmonton: 31 (11 cargo handlers, 20 passenger service agents)
NWT total: 54 / Nunavut total: 54
Source: Unifor Airline local 2002
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