Unions Stand in Solidarity Against Airport Privatization

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Airline Division issued a statement decrying the airport investment policy statement recently released by the federal government. 

The union, which represents 18,500 flight attendants across Canada, echoed a statement put out by Unifor earlier this week. It warns that private investment in airports could result in “downward pressure on wages and working conditions for workers in the air transportation industry”  and states that investors will “always seek to cut labour costs and lower cleanliness and health and safety standards in order to increase profitability.”

“We don’t need the federal government finding new methods of profiteering in our airports, we need them stepping up to invest in making our airports safer and more efficient,” says CUPE Airline Division President Wesley Lesosky.

CUPE states other jurisdictions that have privatized airport infrastructure have increased costs to the public, including airport improvement fees, parking fees, increased landing charges, and fees for dropping off passengers, a differing view from one presented this week by the Fraser Institute, which released a study which called for increased private investment in airports.

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