Canada's NDP

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November 27th, 2020

Liberals are failing airline and aerospace workers amid COVID-19, says Jagmeet Singh

OTTAWA – Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh held a roundtable with union leaders to address the devastating challenges faced by workers in the airline and aerospace sectors and their families. Singh and NDP Labour Critic Scott Duvall joined union leaders in calling on Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to support air transport workers. The NDP wants the Liberal government to ensure public funding for these sectors go directly to support workers and consumers alike, and not towards bonuses to senior executives.

“Air transportation and aerospace are among the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Singh. “Since the onset of this pandemic, tens of thousands of direct jobs have been lost across the country. These are not just numbers. Families and communities have been devastated. Justin Trudeau has been missing in action. More needs to be done to support these workers right away.”

Elsewhere in the world, many countries have already made significant efforts to support workers in the air transport and aerospace sectors. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals must do their part in supporting workers and their families during this difficult time. The NDP is also calling for immediate help for these sectors such as forcing airline companies to use the wage subsidy program to protect jobs and wages. The government must also ensure the rules in the Canada Labour Code, collective agreements and health and safety requirements are respected.

“The NDP wants to protect these good jobs and help workers in these sectors,” said Duvall. “Justin Trudeau is willing to do anything for his rich friends, but when it comes to workers and their families, he asks them to wait. We need leadership from the Liberal government now to protect air and aerospace workers.”