Much has happened since the ITF held their Congress (Convention) in August 2006 so here is a short summary of their activities.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Section:
The ITF has introduced their ICAO team made up of three people who have generously volunteered their time to the Civil Aviation Section of the ITF in order for it to play a vital role in ICAO.
The volunteers are: Steve Vodi from the IAMAW in Toronto, France Pelletier from CUPE in Montreal, and Pierre Gaumond from CATCA in Montreal. Steve brings over 20 years of ground handling experience to this new team and has participated in groups with Transport Canada, and CATSA to name a few. France has a background in cabin crews, along with being on numerous panels such as the Canadian Aviation Regulatory Committee and Transport Canada. Pierre is still active in CATCA and is currently an Air Traffic Controller and has participated with Transport Canada in a language proficiency study group. The ITF team will raise issues to the ICAO organization dealing with liberalization, deregulation, health and safety, and worker fatigue. At ICAO’s General assembly in Montreal, the International Labour Organization (ILO), in cooperation with the ITF, addressed the plenary and called for more social dialogue and an increased role of labour as a stakeholder.
Organizing Globally:
This continues to be the main thrust of the ITF and their affiliates throughout the world. If we are to combat globalization effectively, then they must be successful in organizing members in countries where the working conditions, health and safety legislation, and basic human rights are poor. Their goal is to build new affiliations and grow the number of Unions and membership around the world. They are trying to organize air traffic corridors, flight kitchens (LSG, Skychefs, Gategourmet), integrator companies (DHL, TNT, FedEx, UPS), and low cost carriers (Ryanair, Air Asia, Jetblue, Air Berlin).
Environment:
The environmental impact of aviation has captured the focus of public attention. The inclusion of aviation into emission trading schemes and introduction of fuel taxes are both under discussion. Both of these topics will have major effects on the industry and its workers. Soon the ITF will develop and distribute a position paper on this topic.
Airline Alliances:
Recently these meetings have been held in locations where its presence makes an impact to one of the Alliances due to ongoing unresolved issues with those carriers. Oneworld and Skyteam have recently met and dealt with issues such as increased hostile behaviour from companies towards its Unions and members, and ongoing organizing campaigns designed to unionize members from carriers who recently came out of bankruptcy proceedings.
New International Allegiances:
In order for the ITF to be more effective, they have been forging closer links with other worker organizations. Recently they have been working closely with the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers (IFATCA), and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA).
Communication:
The ITF has over the last couple of years improved their website and is now a valuable source of information on their activities. They publish their information in 7 languages in order to reach a broader audience around the world.
Carlos DaCosta
Airline Coordinator, IAMAW Canada
November 12, 2007
