Unions representing airport security screeners say turnover for new hires is high despite efforts to recruit more workers, with just one in three recent hires still working in some areas.
Significant flight delays and cancellations at airports across Canada earlier this year drew scrutiny from passengers and politicians alike. Among other measures to ease the chaos, the government promised to increase the hiring of security inspectors — and it did, with more than 2,000 new inspectors hired since April.
Pressure is now on for airports to have a smooth holiday season, but high turnover and extended negotiations between security inspectors and their employers could throw another wrench into the works.
David Lipton with the United Steelworkers union, which represents about 2,000 airport security screeners at 41 airports, said only about a third of screeners hired in recent months have stayed, with the rest either quitting or leaving during of the training period or not appears in training. Other unions reported similar levels of turnover for recent new hires.
For example, Lipton said Ottawa Airport needs between 350 and 380 workers to be adequately staffed, although security employer GardaWorld disputed that, saying their target is below 350. Currently, Ottawa has about 270 , up from about 200 earlier this year, Lipton said.
Security screeners at Canadian airports work for third-party contractors hired by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA). There are three main contractors that provide screening devices to airports across Canada: Allied Universal, Securitas and GardaWorld.
CATSA said the average reported attrition rate for security officers in the three months ended September 30 was 12.2%. Spokeswoman Suzanne Perseo said the agency is ready for the upcoming holiday season.
Both GardaWorld and Allied Universal said they are well staffed, with GardaWorld increasing hiring for the holidays, while Securitas declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations.
Almost all security examiners covered by the USW are currently bargaining with their employers, Lipton said. They include inspectors in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, who recently rejected an offer from Securitas, and workers at the Ottawa airport who are negotiating with GardaWorld, he said.
Lipton said inflation has made current security screening salaries less attractive, making it harder to retain workers.
“In times of high inflation, workers demand more of a raise just to make ends meet,” he said.
But he said working conditions are driving people away as with fewer workers, shifts are longer and more stressful.
Keith Aiken with the International Association of Mechanical and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which represents thousands of safety inspectors in B.C. and Ontario, including those at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, did not elaborate but said the turnover rate for security screeners is “very high.” He attributed the turnover at Pearson to scheduling and working conditions.
“Our proactive screenings are highly monitored in a stressful environment, and this makes new employees reluctant to do their jobs,” Aiken said in an emailed statement.
The transport minister’s office acknowledged that like other sectors, CATSA is currently experiencing higher levels of staff turnover.
However, spokeswoman Nadine Ramadan said CATSA has achieved pre-pandemic staffing levels at major airports and is entering the holiday season with lower wait times. For example, he told Pearson, CATSA is 25 percent above pre-pandemic staffing levels, including turnover.
But the new hires who remain face delays in the training process provided by CATSA, said IAMAW’s Aiken.
Aiken said that means many new hires can only do certain tasks and not full control duties.
CATSA’s Perseo said the inspection authority modified its training earlier this year to “accelerate the readiness of inspection officers while prioritizing safety effectiveness”.
This means that some recruiters perform non-control functions in queues to optimize staffing. He also said CATSA has added more trainers.
COVID-19 has changed the reality for workers, said Catherine Cosgrove of Teamsters Canada, which represents about 1,000 workers at GardaWorld screenings across the country, including in Winnipeg and Edmonton.
“Turnover right now is widespread,” he said of the screening industry, agreeing that about a third of new hires from recent months are still working.
Inspectors at the Edmonton airport signed a deal in September with a 12 per cent pay increase over two and a half years after voting to strike in July.
But despite those gains, Cosgrove said she believes employee retention will be a persistent problem in the industry.
If bargaining goes south heading into the holiday season, USW qualifiers may not be able to strike, Lipton noted — the unions are awaiting a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board to determine whether they have the right to strike based on the percentage of their work is considered essential.
The USW is calling on the government to increase funding for CATSA screeners, as it says employers cite funding constraints in third-party contracts as a reason they can’t offer better deals at the bargaining table.
CATSA did not comment on its funding but said it was confident contractors could work with unions to reach agreements, while the transport minister’s office said the government had not cut or reduced funding for CATSA staff.
But Lipton said more is needed.
“I think an important issue here is that CATSA needs to adequately fund the screening processes so that the screening contractors can pay these people proper wages and stabilize the workforce,” Lipton said.
