Sunwing says holiday travel disruptions caused by rejection of an LMIA

Sunwing says holiday travel disruptions caused by rejection of an LMIA

 

The airline did not have enough qualified pilots on staff to meet increased demand over the holiday season.

Sunwing Airlines attributed the December 9 rejection of the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) as a major factor in the widespread disruption to its passengers during the festive season.


At a recent meeting of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, an airline representative said they had received more than 7,000 complaints from passengers seeking compensation for related fees and refunds.

The airline canceled 67 flights between Dec. 15 and 31. This is partly due to the unusually stormy winter weather, but staff shortages also play a big role.

Passengers from Saskatchewan were especially hard hit as Sunwing canceled all flights to and from the Regina and Saskatoon airports on Dec. 29. The airline does not have enough pilots to service the airports after rejecting applications to hire foreign workers.

According to Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union representing more than 16,000 aviation industry workers, Sunwing intends to hire 63 pilots in October through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to fly planes through the busy winter months.

The union strongly opposes Sunwing getting the necessary positive or neutral outcome. On October 14, 2022, Unifor sent a letter to the director of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), saying the union believed that Sunwing had failed to provide sufficient evidence that they had made every effort to hire qualified or qualified permanent employees. able to become qualified. They say Sunwing has not demonstrated that there is a shortage of pilots in Canada to fill the positions or be trained to fill them, and that the airline is not looking hard enough.

What is an LMIA?

The LMIA is a document that Canadian businesses or employers must complete as part of their application to hire temporary workers from abroad. The document outlines why businesses desperately need workers, their efforts to hire Canadians or permanent residents, and the impact of hiring foreign workers on Canada's workforce. Employers must demonstrate that there are not enough Canadians or permanent residents with sufficient skills, training or work experience to fill the positions.

The document will be sent to ESDC, which will decide whether the introduction of TFW will have a positive, neutral or negative impact on Canada's workforce. Businesses can continue to hire foreign workers if the LMIA is deemed positive or neutral.

Why was the LMIA rejected?

Advertising requirements

Unifor's letter said Sunwing did not qualify for a positive LMIA because it did not follow advertising requirements. The company said searches of Job Bank Canada on Oct. 3 and Oct. 6 showed it had not advertised job openings on the Canadian government's job bank.

To qualify for an LMIA, employers typically need to post open positions on jobbank.ca for all Canadians to access for at least four weeks. They must also be able to demonstrate that they used at least two other recruitment methods. Some employers waive the advertising requirement entirely.

Union says no lack of qualified pilots in Canada

In addition, Unifor said Sunwing is trying to recruit pilots through TFWP due to manufacturing labor shortages. Pilots are flying fewer hours per month during the pandemic but have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, the union said.

It also said there was unlikely to be a shortage of pilots who could meet the necessary job requirements, but that some would require additional training, which should not be a barrier.

Rate of pay for TFWs would have been higher than unionized pilots

Unifor argued that under their collective agreement, Sunwing would pay TFW more than the Canadian pilots. Advertisements obtained through SmartWings showed captains receiving flat payments of $9,500 a month, plus $5,000 a month in cash, they said. That's more than the highest-paid captains under the union's collective agreement, even though they require less experience.

Additionally, when it comes to union positions using the TWFP, employers must:

• Advertise and offer the same wage rates as those established under the Collective Agreement.

• Offer the TFWs the same terms and conditions as Canadian and permanent resident workers.

• Recommend that employers work actively with union representatives to recruit Canadians and permanent residents.

   Sunwing dismissed union claims that the airline wanted to hire TFWs as a cheaper alternative to domestic pilots.
  
  “Unifor Local 7378’s claim that Sunwing Airlines plans to hire seasonal foreign pilots as a ‘cheaper alternative’ to hiring Canadian pilots is absolutely untrue,” Sunwing president Len Corrado told Canadian media in November.
  
  Sunwing typically reduces service in the warmer months because it is an airline and travel group company focused on southern destinations with less demand in summer. Corrado said hiring pilots as TFWs ahead of the holidays would allow the airline to be adequately staffed for the winter months.

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