Vancouver International Airport declined to renew a long-standing contract to keep birds off its runways shortly after employees joined a union, and instead awarded the new contract to a non-union company without going to public tender.

On March 1 the highly experienced full-time wildlife control officers who patrol Vancouver International Airport to guard against birds striking aircraft will be replaced by new untested part-time staff — who have never worked at YVR in these positions before.

While this issue is currently happening in Vancouver, it is one of interest to all Canadian airports. Click on the link to read more and to show your support for aviation safety.

The Conservative Government introduced an economic and fiscal statement last week that fails to provide relief for workers, or any measures to get the economy back on track. It also threatens to roll-back our rights.

Instead of dealing with the biggest economic crisis in decades, the Harper government has chosen to:

• Break signed collective agreements by rolling back wage increases for some workers, including our members at the CRA;
• Impose wage controls on all federal public sector workers; and
• Attack the right to pay equity.

None of these actions will help workers or the economy.

We need a government that shows leadership -- that recognizes the economic crisis, invests in jobs and in people and that respects our human rights.

Let's make Parliament work. Let's support a coalition government that will get us through this economic crisis.

Join us on Parliament Hill, December 4 at noon.

www.psac.com

www.makeparliamentwork.ca

 

It would appear that UCTE's lobbying work has been successful in light of Minister Cannon's announcement during the latest SCOT meeting. The Minister explained that the government was now willing to make amendments to proposed changes to the aviation safety regulations in order to address concerns raised by UCTE and other presenters. Mr. Cannon said that, "the changes are significant in as much as the preoccupations and the concerns that a number of the members around the table have raised, these amendments will be able to address those concerns." The controversy lies in the government's plan to remove itself from the business of regulation. The plan is to adopt a new safety management system across the country, a comprehensive process involving setting goals, measuring performance and planning as a way to manage risk. While this concept is used in numerous countries, the issue lies with the fact that the government is changing the way it oversees the airline industry and conducts safety audits. These changes could put both the industry and the safety of the flying public in danger. While our TIs would no longer be conducting blanket audits and inspections of all airlines, under the current proposed changes they would only audit companies deemed to pose the greatest risk. UCTE will continue its lobbying efforts to ensure that the best interest of the flying public is maintained.