Over 700 workers employed by Swissport at Pearson Airport in Toronto, Canada, walked off the job Thursday at 9:30 pm. The workers handle baggage and cargo, tow planes, clean cabins, and perform flight operations tasks for over 30 airlines. The company’s uncompromising attitude and disrespect for workers are directly responsible for this labour dispute.

“We tried our best to reach an acceptable agreement with the company. Swissport just wasn’t interested,” explained Harjinder Badial, vice-president of Teamsters Local Union 419, which represents Swissport staff.

Badial regrets that passengers will likely have to deal with lost luggage, significant delays and flight cancellations at Pearson. “We spent weeks trying to avoid getting to this point. Sadly, the company is insisting on forcing a bad deal on workers.”

Swissport is attempting to impose a 3-year wage freeze on the majority of their workers.

To read the complete article from the Teamsters Canada website, Click Here.

 

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