Union alleges security compromises at Pearson

Published On Mon Oct 17 2011 in The Toronto Star
Anthony Ciardullo, Staff Reporter

The safety of travelers out of Pearson International Airport “is being compromised” by the use of inexperienced workers and a decline in standards, alleges the union representing the facility’s 1,600 security screeners.

The Canadian Airport Workers Union made the assertions Monday in a complaint filed to the Canadian Industrial Relations Board as it called for the reinstatement of more than 100 employees who were suspended indefinitely in the wake of a work-to-rule campaign that caused long delays over the busy Thanksgiving weekend.

On Oct. 11, Garda Security Group, the private company contracted by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), said it had suspended 74 employees for defying an Oct. 6 labour board order to end the action that had begun the day before.

“We don’t have an exact figure, because they haven’t been copying the union on any of the letters of suspension,” said the union’s lawyer, Denis Ellickson. “So, we’re only discovering how many people have been suspended when they come to us.”

The suspended employees have been replaced by managers and people from outside agencies and “the majority of these individuals are not certified by CATSA and are unqualified and untrained to perform these screening duties,” thus undermining passenger safety, says the statement of facts.

“It’s an extremely serious allegation, there’s no doubt about it,” said Ellickson. “But that’s what the union and its members are observing. We have the particular incidents which certainly do call into question why people aren’t following the standard operating procedures.”

Garda representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suspended workers, who Garda said engaged in “unlawful strike activity,” include two union executives and several employees who were on days off or vacation during the work-to-rule campaign, the union said. Their suspension letters, all identical in not specifying the recipient’s illegal actions, say the company plans to sue for damages caused by the delays, estimated at “millions of dollars.”

The union’s complaint also alleges that since the labour board ruling Garda has waged “a campaign of managing by fear and intimidation that is materially and significantly affecting screening officers.”

Among the union’s allegations: an employee operating the x-ray was accused of slowing down the line and suspended despite discovering two large knives in a bag during her shift; another x-ray operator was assaulted and terminated after pausing the conveyer belt to examine bags; three workers fainted after not being allowed to eat, drink or use the washroom; another employee urinated on herself and quit after being denied a bathroom break; several employees were not allowed to leave to cast their provincial election votes.

“This is all information we’ve got firsthand from employees,” said Ellickson. “It’s abusive. No employee should have to tolerate such conduct from their employer.”

The genesis of the dispute was Garda’s move to implement a new scheduling system among screeners that would include a form of shift bidding.

The union is asking for immediate reinstatement of all suspended employees with full compensation and no loss of seniority and benefits, as well as a halt to the scheduling plan slated to begin Nov. 1.