Many months into this Global Pandemic that has hit the airline transportation sector incredibly hard and we continue to see job cuts and airline route reduction across Canada. This week, Onex-WestJet has announced further reductions to operations in the Atlantic. On November 1, 2020, WestJet will indefinitely suspend operations to four airports – Fredericton, Sydney, Moncton and Charlottetown — while significantly reducing service to Halifax and St. John’s. They will also cease flight operations to Quebec City.

Unifor and other unions continue to lobby on behalf of airline transportation workers across the country. The protection of good airline jobs is essential as we rebound in the coming months and years. It is not enough to outsource jobs to the lowest bidder or change routes to Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers (ULCC) such as SWOOP. Protections must exist for the airline workers who have built WestJet into the company they have become.

Some progress has been made to assist airlines in rebuilding.

Health Canada’s approval of the use of rapid testing kits presents an opportunity to accelerate economic recovery and a safe return to travel, says Unifor.

“By investing in scientifically-proven technology to detect and track COVID-19, Canada can achieve an economic recovery that also keeps people safe,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Rapid testing is a safe alternative to the 14-day quarantine that has decimated air travel during the pandemic.”

The Government of Canada has purchased up to 30 million kits for distribution to the provinces. Unifor is urging the government to earmark a portion of those tests for the traveling public.

Last week, Canadian union leaders representing more than 310,000 Canadian workers called on the Trudeau government to take urgent, concrete steps to prevent permanent, long-lasting damage to the aviation sector by providing direct support.

“Canada is the only nation with a national airline carrier that has not provided relief for the aviation sector,” said Dias. “Action to secure the industry’s future is overdue, and we call on the federal government to deploy rapid testing technology as an alternative to travel quarantines.”

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

If you have any questions about what a Unifor contract can do for you in such difficult times, or anything else, please reach out to one of your organizers.

Billy O'Neill, Unifor
[email protected] | 416-605-1443

Quebec
Ada Zampini, Unifor
[email protected] | 514-701-6227

Prairies
Bruce Fafard, Unifor
[email protected] | 587-341-0945

British Columbia
Simon Lau, Unifor
[email protected] | 778-928-9630

Atlantic
Patrick Murray, Unifor
[email protected] | 506-850-7996