Tag: Fort MacMurray International Airport

Staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport are being protested by airport workers in the hope that this will make a difference and prevent the layoffs from happening as planned. Dozens of workers at the facility spent last Monday picketing the airport and protesting the decision that was announced. It is not just that the staff layoffs are planned but also that these workers will be replaced by a company which has used temporary foreign workers in the past which adds insult to injury. According to airport management the decision to contract out the custodial services currently handled by a custodial staff of 23 full time and 1 part time workers was to save costs and lower the operating budget. This move means that the custodial staff will be laid off.

If the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport actually occur many fear that the services outsourced will be performed by temporary foreign workers. The company identified to take over custodial services on June 1 of this year has been identified as Bill’s General Cleaning, Imported Goods and Consulting Ltd. Has a past history of hiring temporary foreign workers and some groups argue that the company has ties to Bill’s Recruiting which is in the business of recruiting and placing temporary foreign workers. If that is the case then it would make sense for the company to use foreign workers to fill the jobs opened by the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport. The idea that Canadian citizens would be let go so that foreign workers can replace them does not sit well with many people.

Staff layoffs at the Fort MacMurray International Airport has affected more than 20 employees at the facility. 24 members of the cleaning staff at the airport have been laid off from their positions, and the airport will be contracting out custodial staff services in order to lower the operational costs of the facility. Les Collins, the CUPE local 1505 president, said “The feeling was shock, obviously, and disappointment from the members.” Scott Clements, the Fort McMurray Airport Authority CEO, said “It’s a very material number. We didn’t do this because we’re in a downturn and we may not be done yet. We’re doing this because I need to present to the board the best long-term sustainability of my workforce.” The airport arrived at this step after reviewing the budget and trying to identify ways to reduce the facility’s operational costs.

Les Collins is disappointed with the staff layoffs at Fort MacMurray International Airport, and believes that the positions involved will be given to temporary foreign workers in order to achieve lower costs. This means that Canadians will be replaced with temporary foreign workers, and changes to this program may create problems with this model in the future. Gil McGowan, the Alberta Federation of Labour president, stated “It stretches the bounds of credibility that temporary foreign workers are not going to be used at the airport, and there’s certainly no way that this company can promise to keep costs down by only paying $14.50 an hour if they’re not using temporary foreign workers. There’s absolutely no way that they’ll find Canadians to work for those poverty wages even with the economy softening up in the Fort McMurray area.”