Ground crew strike at Toronto International Airport
By
Carl Bronski
18 August 2017
Seven hundred ground crew and baggage handlers at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport are in the third week of a strike against a vicious, concessionary contract proposal from Swissport.
Under a Greater Toronto Airport Authority contract, Swissport services flights of some 30 passenger airlines, including KLM, British Airways, Air France, Emirates, Sunwing, and Air Transat. It also provides ground services for cargo airlines such as UPS, that fly out of Toronto’s main airport.
Highly profitable Swissport International is the world’s leading supplier of airport services to the aviation industry and is active in 48 countries with service contracts at more than 280 airports. A one-time subsidiary of Swissair, Swissport is now owned by the China-based HNA Group. Its revenues exceeded US $3 billion in 2016.
Swissport’s Canadian subsidiary is seeking a three-year wage freeze, reduced benefits eligibility, and a more onerous and unpredictable shift schedule. At $14 per hour, under the company offer, workers would be earning Ontario’s legal minimum wage as of next January 1, when an increase in the provincial rate is to take effect.
Members of Teamsters Local 419, the Toronto Swissport workers voted 95 percent to reject the company’s derisory contract proposals, then walked out on strike July 27.
Although a mediator is in place, there have been no talks since the strike began.
In anticipation of a strike, Swissport management hired several hundred temporary workers who have received only a few days of training. Normally, training for such key tasks as airplane-load balancing and plane-towing can take up to four weeks. Already there have been reports of damage to planes, improperly…