The President of the United Steelworkers Local 1-417 says some of his members are concerned that Kamloops Airport isn’t doing enough to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Marty Gibbons says the Steelworkers represent about 25 security screeners who work at YKA, noting his members allege that there is unrestricted access to the terminal with no additional cleaning measures in place.
“We have people coming through. There is direct contact with screeners, and we have a lot of concerns. We’ve been working with our employer, G4S,” he told NL News.
“It’s very concerning for screeners as many of them had reported they see more controls for people entering Costco. We’ve submitted a letter to the airport authority advising them of what we feel they should be doing.”
Gibbons says that includes screening passengers for COVID-19 symptoms before they enter the terminal, and to limit access to areas of the terminal where people do not need to be.
“We control the check point where people get screened but our problem is that if we are detecting people with symptoms at the checkpoint, which is really the second to last step before you board the airplane, it’s too late,” Gibbons added. “We’re just concerned we’re not seeing any of those procedures.”
He says the Steelworkers represent the screeners who work for G4S, while it is the airport that is the landlord, while also controlling both cleaning and access to the terminal.
Airport Managing Director Ed Ratuski confirms he got a copy of the letter this morning.
He told NL News that they have drastically increased cleaning at the airport, noting the terminal is mostly empty these days. He also says the number of people have dropped off significantly in the last week after the Canadian border closed to non-essential travel, and a number of airlines reduced domestic flights across Canada.