Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

OTTAWA - IMP Group Limited, which is charged with maintaining and repairing Canadian search and rescue helicopters, refuses to address some important labour issues with its employees, according to the union representing the employees, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

“Our members perform work that is of great importance to the safety and security of many Canadians,” said PSAC National President John Gordon. “IMP management should do everything they can to resolve the labour problems within the company and to develop harmonious work relations with the employees.”

For Gordon, the time has come for IMP management to learn how to deal fairly with its unionized workforce. “Many Canadian companies deal with unions representing their employees,” he said, “and in doing so they are able to ensure labour peace in their workplaces. IMP should do the same.”

PSAC members at IMP have been trying for 5 months to negotiate a collective agreement with their employer. Recently the PSAC had to ask the federal government to appoint a conciliation officer because of the lack of progress in the bargaining process.

“Too often, we have heard the employer’s representatives tell us that they didn’t know what to do at the bargaining table,” said Greg Isberg, president of one of the PSAC Union Locals which represent IMP workers at the company’s three plants in Gander, Newfoundland; Trenton, Ontario and Comox,British Columbia. “We are only trying to get a fair and reasonable collective agreement. It looks like the employer does not want to be part of the bargaining process.”

PSAC members working at IMP are highly skilled and dedicated workers. They are currently the only ones with the skills to maintain and repair Cormorant helicopters in Canada. They want to ensure not only the safety of Canadian citizens who find themselves in need of search and rescues services but also the safety of the brave men and women of the Armed Forces who risk their lives on a daily basis “So Others May Live” (the motto of the Search and Rescue Technicians of the Air Force).

The first meeting with the conciliation officer appointed by the federal government will be held in Halifax on February 12, 2007.