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Airline Workers Air Canada Flight Attendants Demand Safety Be PrioritizedIn its March 22 bulletin, the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) demanded that the full gamut of personal protective equipment (PPE) be provided to its flight attendants. The union acknowledges that after months of calls for increased personal protection equipment onboard, and courageous efforts of members who stood up for their rights, Air Canada is now going to provide one N95 respirator per crew member.
"- Providing the regulatory-required fit testing to ensure N95 respirators are correctly sized to our members, ensuring maximum protection; "- Establishing an opportunity for on-site training to assist employees with understanding the do's and don'ts of donning and removing this PPE; "- Providing a clear explanation of when the N95 respirator provides maximum benefit." The workers also demand that Air Canada provide all "additional universal precautions equipment that is crucial to full protection -- over and above what is contained in the UPK [Universal Precaution Kit] kits -- including additional eye visors and full-sleeve smocks which are used by other professionals when in close proximity to persons suspected of contagious disease." The bulletin goes on to state: "The Union's position is that this PPE should remain a staple of our onboard personal protective equipment ALWAYS so that we never have to put ourselves at risk for weeks on end in the future. We must NEVER turn our backs on this hazard." Discussing the issue of social distancing onboard the aircraft, the bulletin quotes a decision from Transport Canada about Air Canada's practice of requiring flight attendants to work in close proximity to passengers during the pandemic. The decision follows the investigation of multiple work refusals. It reads: "Requiring Flight Attendants to come frequently into close proximity with passengers during the COVID-19 outbreak, in order to provide regular service, with no possibility of social distancing presents a serious threat to their health. "Therefore, you are HEREBY DIRECTED, pursuant
to paragraph 145(2)(a) of the Canada Labour Code,
Part II, to alter the activity that constitutes
the danger immediately." As of March 31, CUPE Air Canada component
President Wesley Lesosky told CBC that the
workers still "don't have properly fitted N95
masks, we don't have properly fitted gloves and
we don't have things such as disposable
long-sleeve isolation gowns that should be made
available to our crews." Speaking to the Huffington
Post, Lesosky noted that the workers are
in a "highly stressful situation because we're
not trained in a pandemic. We are trained in
dealing with someone who shows signs of the flu
or how to perform primary first aid, but we're
not trained on how to move through an isolation
stage on a plane. We don't have a place to put
people." The CUPE Air Canada component raised a related problem in its bulletin dated March 23, indicating its concern that the On-Board Service Managers (OBSMs) and Mentors are still being placed on their aircrafts. These are staff hired by Air Canada to provide so-called support for the crew members but who actually interfere as they have no functional role onboard. The bulletin says: "What support can they
possibly offer that our highly skilled cabin
crew cannot? Why would we want, at this time, to
have them interacting with our customers? We
should be focusing on the well-being of each
other, limiting contact and practising safety
first and always. Now is not the time to be
augmenting crews, adding unneeded 'assistance'
on board or at layover points. This is the time
to remove the programs and move forward with
what we do best, SAFETY. [...] As a practical
reality there is no value to have OBSMs
travelling throughout the system and offering
support to our members currently facing massive
job reductions, especially when they have no
functional role onboard. We will continue to
impress upon the Company in no uncertain terms
why it makes sense to reconsider the OBSM
Program under the circumstances." An additional issue that now confronts Air
Canada workers is the company's March 30
announcement that it will be laying off 15,200
unionized workers and 1,300 managers for April
and May, citing flight cancellations caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The bulletin
states: "The Union demands that the employer
provide our crews with the full gamut of PPE
required to safely conduct their duties and, in
doing so, take care of our customers by: