A labour dispute involving refuelling supervisors and administration staff at the Vancouver International Airport is causing flight delays in the middle of the busy summer season, union representatives say.
Stephen Dunsmore, vice president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, says at least five Air Canada flights, five Air Canada Jazz flights, and five WestJet flights have been delayed since 21 workers were locked out yesterday.
Employer Servisair walked away from the bargaining table on Sunday night, opting to bring in replacement workers to calculate fuel loads and supervise refuellers at YVR.
Delay times have ranged from one minute to 1.5 hours, Dunsmore said, and are not due to picketing or protests.
"The delays here have nothing to do with our members, they are not doing anything to delay aircraft," Dunsmore said.
Servisair, also known as GlobeGround, served a 72-hour lockout notice to the employees on Thursday.
The UCTE has been bargaining since last fall over wages and hours. Dunsmore says workers want a starting wage of $14 to supervise refuelling, and that employees haven't had a raise in three years.
"These are not hugely paid people, they do a skilled job in a secure, high-pressure situation," he said.
Servisair issued a release saying it hoped an agreement could be reached shortly. The two groups met with a conciliator at 2 p.m. Monday.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
