Unifor Local 1996-O

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Unifor attends air sector recovery summit in Ottawa

 

Unifor addressed key industry concerns including understaffing, a living wage at airports for all aviation workers, an end to contract flipping, introduction of successorship rights, and proper training and true protection for the harassment endured by workers on the job at the federal government’s National Summit on the Recovery of the Air Sector on Nov. 24, 2022 in Ottawa.

“It’s no secret that all industries were impacted by the pandemic and the aviation industry was among the hardest-hit,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “Now is the time to bring ideas to the table about how we pave the way forward.”

The summit encouraged government departments and agencies to work with industry partners – including airports, airlines, industry associations, unions and consumer groups – to discuss critical issues facing aviation and the future of the air sector in Canada.

Unifor Director of Airlines Leslie Dias was one of three labour representatives that contributed to the discussion.

Participants spoke about a number of critical challenges in the aviation sector, including COVID-19 lessons learned and challenges for the future, supporting digital transformation, managing costs and infrastructure and integrated management of services at airports, including through data management and transparency, accountability and passenger rights.

“There is a tremendous amount of focus on automation and digitization to create a better passenger journey,” said Dias. “There seems to be a glazing over of what the key issue is that caused the disruptive summer and what will continue to plague the industry unless that is addressed – that is the shortage of labour.”

Unifor called for strategic long-term planning to ensure there are appropriate numbers of workers in higher-skilled positions, such as air traffic control, pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. Due to the years of training to qualify and be certified to do this work, Nav Canada and airlines need to address the current shortages and plan properly for attrition now.

“For the traditionally lower paid work, employers have to get their heads out of the sand that this is a short-term problem and that they can continue to hire while underpaying the workers,” Dias continued.

“The problems experienced in the past six months are not going away. Workers are no longer willing to work for minimum wage, with minimal training and little support, while working precarious schedules, and being on the receiving end of passengers’ wrath over issues they have no control over when flights do not operate as expected.”

The union also called on the government to treat Nav Canada as an essential service and ensure plans are put in place to ensure it is properly staffed to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. Unifor also stressed the need to ensure the Temporary Foreign Worker program is not exploited at the expense of Canadian workers, including pilots.

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Union Meeting

Sunday, December 18, 2022

7:30pm – 9:00pm

Unifor Local 112

30 Tangiers Road, Toronto, ON, M3J 2B2

Public Health measures will be followed

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Unifor Statement on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

PWD

In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed December 3 as International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD).

This year, the theme of IDPWD 2022 is “Transformative Solutions of Inclusive Development”.  Unifor seeks to build upon innovation and technology to maintain meaningful employment for persons with disabilities.

Unifor remains committed to addressing the challenges and barriers faced by people with disabilities seeking meaningful employment and those who are seeking to continue meaningful work when experiencing a disability.

Technology offers an opportunity to redesign and rethink the way work is done. Employers and society can look beyond perceptions and stigmas around disability and integrate innovative means and approaches to ensure persons of all abilities are able to participate in the workforce.

As a union, Unifor understands the importance of accessibility, inclusion, belonging and recognizes the importance of meaningful work to human dignity.  We are asking members of the diverse abilities communities to share their successes and achievements on social media with the hashtag #IDPWD2022.

Within our workplaces and within our Union, members can begin by taking steps towards inclusion:

  1. Encourage the use of the Inclusive Practices Tool Kit in your local union and workplace.
  2. On December 3, use Unifor’s social media shareable to highlight the abilities of people with disabilities.
  3. Challenge your perceptions about disability and consider how your workplace can be made more inclusive.
  4. At your next General Membership Meeting play Unifor’s Workers with Disabilities video.

Unifor invites all workers with disabilities to become involved in their locals and union. Please reach out Derek MacLeod, Workers with Disabilities Staff Liaison at derek.macleod@unifor.org  For more information, please visit: unifor.org/disabilities

Read this statement on our webiste here.

 

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Remembrance Day November 11 2022

Source: https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/remembrance-day/

Canadians recognize Remembrance Day, originally called Armistice Day, every 11 November at 11 a.m. It marks the end of hostilities during the First World War and an opportunity to recall all those who have served in the nation’s defence.

Armistice Day

Armistice Day was inaugurated in 1919 throughout much of the British Empire, but on the second Monday in November. In 1921, the Canadian Parliament passed an Armistice Day bill to observe ceremonies on the first Monday in the week of 11 November, but this combined the event with the Thanksgiving Day holiday. For much of the 1920s, Canadians observed the date with little public demonstration. Veterans and their families gathered in churches and around local memorials, but observances involved few other Canadians.

In 1928, some prominent citizens, many of them veterans, pushed for greater recognition and to separate the remembrance of wartime sacrifice from the Thanksgiving holiday. In 1931, the federal government decreed that the newly named Remembrance Day would be observed on 11 November and moved Thanksgiving Day to a different date. Remembrance Day would emphasize the memory of fallen soldiers instead of the political and military events leading to victory in the First World War.

11 November

Remembrance Day rejuvenated interest in recalling the war and military sacrifice, attracting thousands to ceremonies in cities large and small across the country. It remained a day to honour the fallen, but traditional services also witnessed occasional calls to remember the horror of war and to embrace peace. Remembrance Day ceremonies were usually held at community cenotaphs and war memorials, or sometimes at schools or in other public places. Two minutes of silence, the playing of the Last Post, the recitation of In Flanders Fields, and the wearing of poppies quickly became associated with the ceremony.

Remembrance Day has since gone through periods of intense observation and periodic decline. The 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995 marked a noticeable upsurge of public interest, which has not ebbed in recent years. It is now a national holiday for federal and many provincial government workers, and the largest ceremonies are attended in major cities by tens of thousands. The ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa is nationally televised, while most media outlets – including newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, and internet sources – run special features, interviews, or investigative reports on military history or remembrance-related themes.

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