February 3, 2021
Member Weekly Update – Edition #4
Please find this latest edition of weekly updates to the membership about ongoing Union business.
The election for the RVP Central position concluded Monday; CATCA announced that Gord Howe, of Toronto ACC, was the successful candidate. Most members are familiar with Gord and his continued dedication to the Association. The CATCA Executive Board looks forward to working with Gord.
CATCA would also like to announce our newest team member, Karty Singh, who has joined our Labour Relations and Legal Department. Welcome aboard Karty!
In previous editions, we advised of several grievances filed on behalf of the CATCA membership, including grievances related to job security, staffing and the Unfair Labour Practice Complaint. The Unfair Labour Practice complaint has been confirmed by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) as received and they have advised NAV Canada that they must provide a response to the complaint to the CIRB by next week. We have also received responses to all of the grievances filed towards the end of December. Unfortunately, NAV has denied all of them. In light of this, while we continue to press the company to discuss the issues, we are now in the process of preparing our documentation and strategy before our next steps, which we expect shortly.
The following information is regarding Leave Payouts. Any remaining leave will be paid out in accordance with current practices, unless it is requested by the member to have any remaining leave carried over.
Last week, CATCA issued a press release to Canadian media outlets about the safety risks due to service cuts that NAV Canada is attempting to implement. We also advised that CATCA President, Doug Best, presented these issues to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Doug was asked many questions by committee members – some of which included MP’s from affected regions, which in turn have raised concerns to Transport Canada.
Since the hearing, CEOs of Airport Authorities, Mayors and MP’s have demonstrated their disdain towards NAV Canada and their decision to issue vulnerable notices before the reviews are complete. They have sent letters to the Federal Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, demanding that the process be stopped immediately due to NAV Canada having predetermined the closures.
The Association has received many media requests, and your Executive Board has been actively participating in interviews. These interviews have been conducted on many different platforms, from phone calls, video calls to print and radio interviews.
CATCA will continue to use the media to shine a spotlight on NAV Canada’s current priorities, which are misplaced and have the ability to severely and negatively impact the future of airspace navigation services for all Canadians.
A reminder that CATCA will be hosting a National Town Hall next week. Instructions on how to access the session will be provided in a separate B&F next week.
National Town Hall, all members.
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Time: 13:00 – 14:00 ET
We continue to ask that all Members remain professional as we attempt to continue discussions with NAV Canada over these decisions’ negative impacts. Please remain respectful to management in any discussions or written transactions you may have regarding voicing your concern on this.
As noted before, we understand how difficult the situation is right now for many of our members. Your Executive Board continues to work to protect our member’s rights and jobs and will continue to do so. Should you require assistance, your RVP and Branch Chairs are available to you. EAP services are always accessible to provide support; click here or here.
On Behalf of the Executive Board;
Doug Best Scott Loder
President Executive Vice President
Click here for the PDF.
