Some Ottawa airport employees to begin job action Monday
Staffing shortages are keeping travellers waiting for hours in security lines at airports across the country, but Monday it will be those performing the screenings voicing their frustrations.
Security screeners at 42 airports across the country, including the Ottawa International Airport, are ditching the uniform and dressing casually in protest of working conditions and pay rates.
"There are so many screening officers that have quit, because of low pay and poor working conditions that the airports are severely understaffed," David Lipton, a United Steelworkers union (USW) representative in Ottawa said.
USW represents security screeners in most airports across Canada. Lipton says many of their members are being forced to work 16-17 hour days as a result of staffing shortages.
"In Ottawa, normally there should be 350 screeners; well, we're only operating about 210 on the floor," Lipton continued. "Our members are working for hours and hours and hours without breaks. In many cases with forced overtime. Many senior employees are leaving to find other employment as a result.”
Travellers say the staffing shortages are an issue plaguing the entire industry.
"We had to wait about an hour to take off or pushback because they didn’t have someone who could guide the plane to pushback," Laura Pichette said.
Pichette and her husband just returned from a 12-day trip to Belgium, what was intended to be a relaxing vacation, quickly became a 19-day fiasco after their luggage went missing for nearly three weeks.
"We waited and we waited and we waited and, of course, the luggage did not show up," Pichette said.
It wasn’t until more than a week after Pichette returned to Ottawa that her luggage was finally delivered to her home.
"The interesting thing is we were not alone, there were about eight or 10 other passengers in the same situation," she added.
The experience is one in a long line of frustrations for air passengers that have been mounting over the past several months.
"There’s been more and more pronounced delays, one to two hours just to get through security," Hunter Dickson, who was travelling from Phoenix said.
Lipton says the job action is not expected to create any additional delays at airports, and it won’t be occurring in Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary where staff are under a different union.
Still, some travellers say they’re avoiding the airport until the staffing shortages are resolved.
"What I would say as a vacation consultant is don’t go now. I mean, this will rectify itself, but it’s going to take time," Pichette said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
'I killed four people': Trial hears video evidence of Jeremy Skibicki at Winnipeg trial
“I killed four people,” alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki told two homicide detectives during a recorded interview played as evidence in his trial Wednesday.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.