Tim Collins
B次元官网网址 staff
Recent lay-offs by Viking Air in Sidney has workers and union representatives concerned.
Viking Air Ltd. is a significant employer on the Saanich Peninsula and, in the past, has been touted as B次元官网网址渓eading job creatorB次元官网网址� in Sidney.
That characterization, in part, led the former Clark government to send Finance Minister Mike de Jong and International Trade Minister Teresa Wat to last year announce the first $1 million of a $5 million commitment to help develop the provincial aerospace industry. The announcement was made at Viking Air in Sidney where President and CEO, David Curtis stated, B次元官网网址淰iking has long seen the need for this type of support to develop the aerospace industry in our regionB次元官网网址�.
Clark tweeted: B次元官网网址淲ith over 450 employees, Viking Air is a leading job creator in . Our govB次元官网网址檛 is proud to support this company.B次元官网网址�
But since that time, the company has been faced with lower than anticipated sales of its Twin Otter which, at a base price of about $7 million, formed the foundation of the companyB次元官网网址檚 hopes for prosperity.
B次元官网网址淭he fact is that we were producing more aircraft than we were selling,B次元官网网址� said Curtis, acknowledging that sales to China, Russia and elsewhere had not been as strong as expected.
So it came as no surprise to Jeannie Blaney, Unifor Local 114, union representative for the local production workers, when, in May of this year, Viking announced the lay-off of 212 workers from its plants in North Saanich and Calgary (136 in North Saanich and 76 in Calgary). That 90 day lay-off began on July 28 and has left Blaney asking questions.
B次元官网网址淭o begin with, the union has been very concerned about the amount of sub-contracted work going to Wichita, Kansas, a so called right to work state. That right to work involves lower wages and requirements for things like having to work 23 days straight without a day off or face termination. These arenB次元官网网址檛 Canadian values and we have been pressing Viking to bring those jobs back,B次元官网网址� said Blaney.
Another question revolves around VikingB次元官网网址檚 recent acquisition of the worldwide amphibious aircraft program from Bombardier, including the CL-145 water bomber and its variants. That plane has been the backbone of fire fighting water bomber missions around the world and Curtis has been very optimistic about its capacity to reinvigorate Viking.
B次元官网网址淲hile its obvious that the Twin Otter has been successful, we (Viking) had become reliant on one aircraft. The 145 will expand that capacity and give us the capacity to grow. The market for water bombers is strong, particularly with the sorts of fire seasons weB次元官网网址檙e now seeing world wide.B次元官网网址�
Yet Blaney wonders if the shift to the CL-145 will have much benefit to Sidney. An announcement on the acquisition, made in Calgary where the company has increased its production space to 250,000 square feet, saw Curtis state there was an opportunity to B次元官网网址渕ake aerospace a pretty big deal in the Calgary region. It has the potential for 900 new jobs, and depending on how you multiply that, about 2,000 indirect jobs.B次元官网网址�
SidneyB次元官网网址檚 operations were not mentioned at the time, either in Calgary or Sidney.
Curtis responded to the concern that jobs may be slated for Calgary by pointing out the decision to start production of new CL-145s has not been made. Even if it is decided to do so, he said it would be impossible to construct the aircraft in Sidney, due to the lack of space.
B次元官网网址淭his is a very big aircraft and we donB次元官网网址檛 have the hanger space anywhere in Sidney to do the work here. But, if we decide to pull the trigger and start production in Calgary, the Sidney operation would obviously be involved in the production of component parts.
B次元官网网址淎 rising tide raises all boats.B次元官网网址�
Where the 90 day lay-off is concerned, Curtis would not definitively say that all the workers would return at the end of that time.
B次元官网网址淭hat will obviously depend on how successful we are with sales on the Twin Otter,B次元官网网址� he said.
