News
Pearson operations back to normal after labour dispute
Oct. 11, 2011, Toronto - Operations were back to normal at Toronto's Pearson airport on Sunday despite an ongoing labour dispute that caused travel headaches at the start of the long weekend.
October 11, 2011 By Carey Fredericks
A work-to-rule protest by security screeners led to long lineups and delays at Terminal 1 on Thursday and Friday, affecting domestic and U.S. flights.
The problems appeared to have been sorted by Sunday with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority saying no security labour issues were affecting travellers.
"Everything is normal,'' said spokesman Scott Armstrong.
The airport's security screeners are in a dispute with their employer, Garda Security, a private company contracted by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.
Garda won an injunction Thursday that bars workers from slowing down on the job, but travellers still had to contend with long lineups on Friday as the Thanksgiving weekend kicked off.
A spokesman from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority couldn't comment on the details of the labour dispute but said all operations at the country's busiest airport were back to normal with no unusual delays reported on Sunday.
"The security screening operations are running smoothly,'' said Mathieu Larocque. "We are still monitoring the situation closely.''
Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt has appointed a mediator to assist the parties in resolving their dispute.
