Changes in subcontractors at Montréal-Trudeau airport | Better to be patient

Patience is required if you fly to Africa, the Middle East and certain destinations in Europe from Montréal-Trudeau, since take-off is often more than an hour late. These delays concern companies having changed subcontractors on the track. Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) reiterates its “satisfaction” with this transition, but the story is different among the unions.

Baggage handling, ramp service, aircraft towing… These tasks are essential to the proper functioning of an airport. Since last April, a change has begun among subcontractors: Menzies Aviation and Samsic Assistance have replaced Swissport and ATS, whose licenses have not been renewed.

This has caused major changes as well as discontent among carriers forced to adapt. At the dawn of the summer season, companies such as Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie, Royal Jordanian and Tunisair had to turn to subcontractors Menzies and Samsic, who meanwhile were trying to recruit staff.

Presumably, these two companies still have their work cut out for them.

“We observe that it is very complex, underlines Marc-André Gauthier, director of communications at Teamsters Canada, which represents some 200 employees at Menzies. You have to train staff and get security clearances, which takes time. »

At the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which represents the workers of Samsic, we make the same observation, underlines the Quebec coordinator of the organization, Michel Richer.

By compiling data from air traffic flight tracking platforms – such as Flightradar24 – it is clear that delays persist. Since mid-June, the daily flight from Qatar has never taken off on time. This trend is seen in the rest of the group and has continued until recently. Between June 25 and July 21, Royal Air Maroc even saw its plane be delayed by more than two hours on numerous occasions.

Radio silence

It was not possible to obtain comments from the air carriers concerned about the quality of service offered by Samsic and Menzies.

One thing is certain, this group of carriers did not hide its dissatisfaction after learning that Swissport and ATS were going to have to give way to two new players. Last winter, these companies sent a letter – that The Press had obtained – to the outgoing CEO of ADM, Philippe Rainville, to complain about the changes. They felt they had not been consulted in the process. In their view, this was an “injustice” that would have a “negative impact” on their business.

Not all carriers use subcontractors. The largest airline based in Montréal-Trudeau, Air Canada, for example, does this type of work itself. Transat AT also brings work in-house. Gradually, contracts in force with TSAS – a subcontractor who was able to retain its license – are not being renewed.

More than once, The Press also sent questions to Samsic and Menzies about the delays and to get an idea of ​​their squad at Montreal-Trudeau. They did not answer. However, by consulting the job offer sites, we see that there are always needs.

These two subcontractors are not only looking for employees, but also for executives to supervise the activities. On its website, Menzies, for example, tries to find health and safety managers and activity coordination managers.

Menzies found herself in the spotlight last March after being shown the door at Ottawa International Airport, which blamed her for “unsustainable” problems with service to Flair Airlines and Sunwing.

“Satisfaction and Confidence”

Invited to read the data compiled by The Press, ADM defends Samsic and Menzies. The non-profit says a host of factors like “crew availability” and “weather conditions” can impact on-time performance. Since mid-June, activities at Montreal-Trudeau have been “stopped 15 times due to lightning alerts for periods ranging from a few minutes to more than two hours,” says its spokesperson, Eric Forest.

“This kind of situation obviously causes a disruption of ground operations and, therefore, flight schedules, he says. ADM considers that the transition period which began two months ago is going relatively well. We would like to reiterate our satisfaction and our confidence in the ongoing transition. »

This states that the role of the airport manager is to “ensure compliance with the conditions” of the licenses granted to the subcontractor, without giving an idea of ​​the indicators in question. Mr. Forest mentions reasons of confidentiality.

The waltz of subcontractors at Montréal-Trudeau also raises a situation denounced by the unions when a subcontractor loses his contract. Its workers lose their jobs and then have to apply to the new subcontractor who obtained the contract, to carry out the same tasks, in the same place, but with less advantageous conditions.

This system is called contract rolling, or “contract flipping” in English.

“It has to stop because it’s made revolving doors at the subcontractors, laments Mr. Richer. We have no stability. People come and go quickly. »

At Teamsters Canada, we agree. The union says it has noticed that former employees of Swissport and ATS have decided to find work in another field rather than knocking on the door of new subcontractors.