Court curtails picket line at Winnipeg airport
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/08/2017 (2996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Striking airport workers are bound by more restrictions on the picket line because of a court order imposed this week.
Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Herbert Rempel granted the Winnipeg Airports Authority’s request for an interim injunction against the union representing striking workers — the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s Union of Canadian Transportation Employees.
The injunction restricts where the striking employees can picket, keeping them away from public entrances and exits to airport terminals on the arrival and departure levels, and says no more than 12 picketers can be present at once.
The judge refused to order picketers not to film or photograph other employees in public areas and did not prohibit them from handing out brochures.
“This is a case where placing a reasonable limit on the right of PSAC members to freely express their opinions is necessary. The special environment of an international airport makes it more than just a workplace because a whole host of security and safety regulations mandated by law are in play and they cannot be interfered with, given the potential for catastrophic consequences,” Rempel said in his Aug. 2 ruling.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority had argued picketers were intimidating other employees by filming them with cellphone cameras, blocking traffic and interfering with vehicles.
One picketer jumped up onto a vehicle that was being blocked, a lawyer for the authority said.
“The pickets have been very respectful of passengers. When a passenger is coming out (of the airport terminal), they stop and let them by automatically,” authority president and CEO Barry Rempel has told the Free Press.
The judge said he believed both the authority and the union’s striking employees have a duty to protect the public and maintain high levels of security.
About 150 airport employees — including managers, tradespeople and administrative workers — went on strike July 24. They’ve been without a contract since June 30, 2016, and cite issues such as work being contracted out to non-union employees, wages and pension-plan changes.
— staff