By now you may have read a few articles written by various newspapers celebrating the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada and the milestones achieved since 1909.
The purpose of this article is to try to capture it from workers point of view, so that you are able to see how government and corporations have shaped the aviation industry in Canada.
While most of the articles fail to mention the Avro arrow, or the creation of our nation’s carriers to name a few, they also fail to mention the introduction of Open Skies and the hundreds of bankruptcies we have seen in our country and the reasons why.
One of the key milestones in our history is not just the invention of the airplane, or technology that advanced aviation, but the introduction of deregulation and its negative impact on aviation. This aspect of history will reveal itself fully – and it won’t take 100 years to do so!
Deregulation came into existence in the 1980’s and the world has not been the same since. Sure we have all read how the traveller has more options, cheaper air fares, and so on. And, yes we saw some limited growth in the beginning.
But, have you noticed how overall service has deteriorated. Baggage is lost more often. Onboard meals have disappeared, and some drinks now have a price tag if they are offered at all. There are surcharges added for extra luggage. Safety floatation devices have disappeared from certain types of aircraft. More and more airlines are going bankrupt and leaving passengers stranded without recourse. Frustrated airline employees have lost their smiles and energy due to internal struggles with their own company. Call centres based outside of our country creating further problems for those seeking assistance. Additional fuel charges and airport and government fees added to the airfare. All of these leading to higher ticket prices overall.
In reality all those promises made to you by our government and corporations for you to support deregulation have not materialized.
If you are an airline employee, I don’t have to tell you what the impact has been in your world at work or on your family – but suffice it to say, we all understand why those smiles have disappeared when workers are trying their best to provide a service, deal with the pressures at work and balance this with providing for their families at the same time.
Let’s focus on what needs to take place in the future in order to bring back some normalcy and security to the aviation industry, the travelling public ourselves and our families.
These days the global economic situation is not healthy. This is the time to act properly to heal damages inflicted by our governments and corporate leaders, so we can preserve the aviation industry and ensure it remains healthy while moving into the future.
One of the first areas we have to look at is the Open Skies agreements and the whole issue of deregulation. We have all seen what happens when we let corporations run the show with few rules in place – U.S. President Obama is on the right track when he mentions the need to put some regulations back in place to straighten out the mess we are in.
Clearly there is no confidence left in CEO’s, banking institutions, our government, and those corporate leaders and political lobbyists who tell our elected government officials their version of why the regulations must be removed in order for them to survive. They have ruined our country and the world. Working people and families of the world have suffered as a result. We read about it daily in our newspapers, and the list of ruin keeps growing longer.
There are many examples we have read about such as Enron, Conrad Black, AIG, but in the Transport sector we have Robert Milton dismantling a perfectly healthy airline and selling off valuable assets, removing cash reserves and giving it all away to shareholders and Board of Directors while at the same time destabilizing the company and the pension fund, leaving both in financial turmoil and putting Air Canada in a position to declare bankruptcy.
The Action Plan!
One of our first goals is to tell our elected government officials of our concerns and what must be done to restore our economy, our jobs, our family security and the survival of the companies and industry we work in so that we can start to prosper together.
This must be done so that the government understands that if they fail in looking after the interests of hard working Canadian citizens, we will remove them from power and elect someone who will.
Here are some thoughts on what should take place to turn it around.
1- Revisit the “Open skies” agreements and renegotiate terms so that:
• Labour participates in discussions with the government on the future of the industry, and in negotiations between countries on bilateral and other agreements governing air transport, as is required in the E.U.
• Worker issues such as safety, labour standards, and security are addressed and that smaller communities do not suffer as a result of profits
• The increase in ownership cap of airlines from 25 to 49% proposed in Bill C-10 is stopped. We need to control the nation’s carriers so that our interests are protected by Canadians for Canadians.
• The Safety Management System (SMS) processes in place are reviewed and changed so that safety is not just a superficial audit process but an inspection of aircraft and work performed as was the case prior to the introduction of SMS several years ago.
2- Secure financial aid from Government to assist the affected aviation industry sectors
3- Expand “Employment Insurance” benefits to cover longer periods of payments and provide training required to retrain affected aviation workers
4- Introduction of a strong “Buy Canadian policy” for government purchases within the transport sector
• Buy Canadian aircraft or overhaul services for the Canadian government fleet of aircraft
5- Introduce pension legislation to protect workers through the introduction of a government insurance plan to secure workers and retiree’s pensions. See IAMAW’s position on Pensions on our website – http://iamaw.ca/newsen.php?nid=183
The IAMAW continues to be proactive by promoting progressive ideas and suggestions. It is up to all of us to do our part, however small it may be, so that together we can create a movement to support the working families across this country and make sure our children have a secure future.
Carlos DaCosta