Three dozen Victoria International Airport employees, including 27 security screeners, have been fired after a federal investigation cited “multiple instances of incomplete screening” at the terminal.
Along with the 27 security screeners, nine salaried employees were fired last week after the months-long probe into security screening at the airport, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the union representing the workers.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) said the probe was prompted by a complaint.
“The investigation identified multiple instances of incomplete screening at a non-passenger checkpoint,” CATSA spokesperson Suzanne Perseo said in an emailed statement.
“The findings indicate that the personnel involved did not fulfil their core responsibility to protect the travelling public.”
The investigation was carried out in December and January by Allied Universal, a subcontracted company that provides pre-boarding screening at all public airports in British Columbia, CATSA said.
The union said Allied Universal’s investigation determined the employees’ actions “deviated” from the proper procedure, but was not cause for termination.
The sub-contractor had planned to “return the affected employees to work with a corrective action plan” that included training until the CATSA ordered the “immediate removal” of the employees, the IAMAW said.
Ms. Perseo refuted the union’s claim, saying although the federal agency told the employer it could no longer be billed for the wages of the 36 workers, it did not order they be fired.
“CATSA commenced its process to review the continued certification of these individuals as screening officers and advised the employer that their services could not be billed to CATSA under the current circumstances,” she said. “At no point did CATSA request that the employer terminate the individuals involved.”
IAMAW District Lodge 140 chairperson Tania Canniff said the union is calling on the Transport Minister to “reverse CATSA’s course of action.”
She said the employees were fired “without an appeal,” a move she described as “shameful.”
Ms. Canniff said she is worried the decision could set a “dangerous precedent in future matters governed by the Collective Agreement and legislation.”
IAMAW general vice-president David Chartrand also took aim at CATSA, saying the agency has operated “as ‘the man behind the curtain’ for far too long.”
“As a Crown Corporation, CATSA cannot be allowed without recourse to override labour relation matters with their sub-contractors,” he said. “The ability to appeal is a cornerstone of the labour movement.”
The Epoch Times also contacted Allied Universal for comment, but did not hear back by publication time.
