EDMONTON, August 25, 2016 – The Teamsters Union has taken note of an August 18th decision from the federal Ministry of Labour regarding the security model used at the Edmonton branch of Brinks Canada, which employs 215 members of Local Union 362.
“Our local is respecting the decision but wants to make it clear that members have been safely working under a similar model for over a decade,” explained Wayne Garner, Business Agent at Local Union 362.
Teamsters Canada, which represents 2,000 armoured car guards, has been lobbying the federal government on armoured car safety for over a decade. Issues like the design of armoured cars, access to firearms, standardized training and psych testing for new hires are just some of the labour union’s top armoured car priorities.
Teamster local unions, on top of brokering industry-leading collective agreements, also push for safer working conditions on a case-by-case basis.
“It boils down to where an armoured car is headed,” continued Garner. “The best safety standards are site specific.”
Caution urged when discussing armoured car safety
Teamsters Canada is asking other unions to exercise extreme caution when publicly discussing armoured car safety and security.
“Our members are upset about some of the recent articles highlighting the safety issues they face,” explained Jason Sweet, Director of the Teamsters Canada Armoured Car Division. “Valuable security secrets were made public, putting lives at risk.”
The labour union believes that any and all details about the possible vulnerabilities of armoured cars should never be publicly discussed.
The Teamsters represent 120,000 members in Canada in all industries, including 2,000 armoured car guards. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with which Teamsters Canada is affiliated, has 1.4 million members in North America.
-30-
Information:
Stéphane Lacroix, Director of Public Relations
Cell: 514 609-5101
[email protected]
