Ground crew at Pearson vote on new offer

The union representing striking ground-crew workers at Pearson airport said its members will be voting on a new contract offer Wednesday.

About 700 baggage handlers, cabin cleaners and other ground crew employed by Swissport have been on strike since late July.

Swissport serves 30 airlines at the airport, including Air Transat, Sunwing Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air France, KLM and Lufthansa. Air Canada and WestJet are not served by Swissport.

The ground crew strike has not sig- nificantly affected passengers, although the airport has been warning travellers that the labour disruption could affect some flights.

“It’s really going to be up to (employees) to decide whether or not this offer is an improvement on the company’s first final offer — whether they finally feel listened to and respected,” said Christopher Monette.

Swissport said it extended a “memorandum of settlement” to the union Saturday.

“We are optimistic that the majority of employees will accept the offer and look forward to welcoming them back on the job,” said Pierre Payette, Swissport vice-president of operations for Toronto.

The offer came after a week of negotiations between Swissport and the union, Monette said, noting that federal mediators had brought both sides back to the table.

Monette said details of the latest offer won’t be released until union members finish voting Wednesday night. “Really, it’s all in our members’ hands now.”

Workers have complained of scheduling issues, a wage freeze and a lack of respect from Swissport for their work. The union said it is also fighting benefits cuts by Swissport.