The Public Service Alliance of Canada is concerned about aircraft maintenance in Gander.
Regional Executive Vice President for PSAC Atlantic, Chris Di Liberatore says their members at IMP in Gander are paid less than at the IMP facility on the country’s west coast.
IMP services Cormorant helicopters used for search and rescue, but wages at the facility in Comox, BC are not keeping up with what Di Liberatore says is the industry standard for airframe maintenance engineers.
“They’re having a really hard time keeping staff there. They’re currently probably around 50 per cent staffed,” says Di Liberatore. “So instead of providing a wage that will attract or retain workers, they’re bringing people from Gander, involuntarily, shipping them out to Comox for three weeks at a time, and then bringing them back home…the only thanks they get is the next morning they go right back to work, without giving them any time to recuperate or readjust to the time difference. And that’s a safety concern.”