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The president the national union representing more than 300,000 workers, including Ottawa’s cab drivers, vows supporters will be pulling out all the stops in a demonstration starting near Mooney’s Bay Friday.
“The bottom line is we are going to have a massive demonstration,” said Jerry Dias, president of Unifor. “We are going to have one hell of a demonstration. This issue is going to be brought to a head because I’ve had enough.”
Dias said Unifor plans to bring in busloads of people from Ontario and Quebec to protest what he says is a situation that is completely out of control.
Ottawa police say they are well aware of the planned protest but wouldn’t comment on their planned response.
Taxi drivers and supporters are expected to walk north from the St. Elias Banquet Centre near Mooney’s Bay to City Hall where they plan to demand a meeting with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Dias said.
Dias said many things have gone sideways for the cabbies since they began this dispute with dispatcher Coventry Connections in August.
More than 200 of the drivers, operating under the Airport Taxi brand, have been locked in a labour dispute, picketing at the airport, slowing traffic along the Airport Parkway, and mounting protests in hopes of overturning a contract between the Ottawa Airport Authority and dispatcher Coventry Connections.
The taxi company has removed the drivers’ exclusive right to pick up fares at the airport, and increased the fees to pick up at the facility.
A large number of the remaining 1,200 Unifor-affiliated drivers have shown little difficulty driving past their affected union-mates and picking up fares at the airport.
The union leader said the situation has left Unifor frustrated and pondering what to do with the Ottawa taxi union.
“We are not going to live with a situation where we have one group of workers actively undermining another group,” he said. “We are not a dues collection agency. For us the question becomes, how are we going to deal with this? We are struggling.”
If drivers had stood together across the region over the deal between Coventry and the airport and halted all taxi operations, Dias believes that the issue would have ended quickly and in the drivers favour.
Dias said infighting among his members is something that the union can no longer tolerate, which is one of the reason’s that Unifor is stepping in to handle Friday’s demonstration.
“If there’s not going to be some solidarity then we’re going to have to look at how we deal with this situation as a national organization.”
With Friday’s protest, Unifor aims to attract the attention of the federal government which it believes has been complacent in allowing organizations like the Ottawa Airport Authority to renegotiating contracts with low wage workers.
Dias said the Coventry-airport contract is an example of the types of deals he believes should not be allowed without government oversight.
Canadian airport authorities are not-for-profit organizations tasked with running the airport on behalf of government. Authorities’ board members are appointed by federal, provincial and municipal governments.
Airport fees for cab drivers, parking and leasing fees to restaurants and shops go towards airport improvements, reducing fees charged to travellers.
With files from Meghan Hurley
查看原文...
“The bottom line is we are going to have a massive demonstration,” said Jerry Dias, president of Unifor. “We are going to have one hell of a demonstration. This issue is going to be brought to a head because I’ve had enough.”
Dias said Unifor plans to bring in busloads of people from Ontario and Quebec to protest what he says is a situation that is completely out of control.
Ottawa police say they are well aware of the planned protest but wouldn’t comment on their planned response.
Taxi drivers and supporters are expected to walk north from the St. Elias Banquet Centre near Mooney’s Bay to City Hall where they plan to demand a meeting with Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Dias said.
Dias said many things have gone sideways for the cabbies since they began this dispute with dispatcher Coventry Connections in August.
More than 200 of the drivers, operating under the Airport Taxi brand, have been locked in a labour dispute, picketing at the airport, slowing traffic along the Airport Parkway, and mounting protests in hopes of overturning a contract between the Ottawa Airport Authority and dispatcher Coventry Connections.
The taxi company has removed the drivers’ exclusive right to pick up fares at the airport, and increased the fees to pick up at the facility.
A large number of the remaining 1,200 Unifor-affiliated drivers have shown little difficulty driving past their affected union-mates and picking up fares at the airport.
The union leader said the situation has left Unifor frustrated and pondering what to do with the Ottawa taxi union.
“We are not going to live with a situation where we have one group of workers actively undermining another group,” he said. “We are not a dues collection agency. For us the question becomes, how are we going to deal with this? We are struggling.”
If drivers had stood together across the region over the deal between Coventry and the airport and halted all taxi operations, Dias believes that the issue would have ended quickly and in the drivers favour.
Dias said infighting among his members is something that the union can no longer tolerate, which is one of the reason’s that Unifor is stepping in to handle Friday’s demonstration.
“If there’s not going to be some solidarity then we’re going to have to look at how we deal with this situation as a national organization.”
With Friday’s protest, Unifor aims to attract the attention of the federal government which it believes has been complacent in allowing organizations like the Ottawa Airport Authority to renegotiating contracts with low wage workers.
Dias said the Coventry-airport contract is an example of the types of deals he believes should not be allowed without government oversight.
Canadian airport authorities are not-for-profit organizations tasked with running the airport on behalf of government. Authorities’ board members are appointed by federal, provincial and municipal governments.
Airport fees for cab drivers, parking and leasing fees to restaurants and shops go towards airport improvements, reducing fees charged to travellers.
With files from Meghan Hurley
查看原文...
