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
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.
DEVELOPING Israel says Hamas deal is 'far' from meeting its demands as Rafah offensive looms
Israel said the terms of a ceasefire deal Hamas accepted on Monday remained 'far from' meeting its demands and warned its military operations in Rafah would continue, even as it sent negotiators to talk to mediators.
2024 Met Gala: Everything to know about fashion's annual soiree
Fashion's biggest night out — hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each year on the first Monday of May — is both a forever-evolving spectacle and a carefully crafted event.