Canadians seemingly avoided a painful strike when Air Canada reached a tentative deal with its pilot’s union on the weekend. But Open Jaw is told that junior pilots aren’t happy with the deal, saying it favours captains, and that many appear set to vote it down.
“The most junior pilots still aren’t seeing particularly impressive pay rates and they’re absolutely furious,” one pilot told Open Jaw.
“A lot of the “Quality of Life” improvements we were hoping for didn’t materialize either.
“The most positive reactions I’ve seen I’d describe as ‘underwhelmed.’ The most negative are bitterly, savagely angry and betrayed,” said the pilot, who didn’t wish to have his name published.
Some pilots tell Open Jaw the voting could take place around 01OCT, which means Canadians – and Air Canada – could soon be facing more uncertainty around their travel plans.
CTV News on 18SEP said low entry-level pay in the tentative deal could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote.
“While the tentative agreement's cumulative 42% wage hike over four years applies to all flight crew — a big topline gain after a decade of two per cent annual raises — many could still feel left out of the windfall,” the network said
“After averting a strike this week, some pilots worry that the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal: Bloomberg News reported.
Air Canada posted about the agreement on its Linked In page. Paul-andre Babin, who identified himself as a first officer for Air Canada, responded with this comment: “Just an awful TA, I will be voting no.”
Bloomberg said an online pilot’s forum seemd to show signs of frustration in the ranks.
“One user's post complained the tentative agreement confirms Air Canada as ‘the captain’s airline’ — rather than a carrier ideal for younger aviators. Another claimed that a dearth of quality-of-life improvements means that ‘a no vote is expected and even desired.’”
Robert Kokonis, president of AirTrav Inc., says he's optimistic about the tentative deal going through.
"I don’t think there are enough younger pilots, particularly those presently on flat pay, to have the TA voted down. From what I have heard, a lot of the mid and senior pilots do think they should vote in favour of the deal," he told Open Jaw.
“We have an agreement with and endorsed by the union negotiating committee and the MEC (master executive council), and now they will present and explain it to the membership prior to the vote,” said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.
CTV said union spokeswoman Camilla Castro declined to comment on the fixed-rate issue, but said in an email Monday: “If ratified, this agreement will address key issues, including compensation, retirement, work rules, and add approximately $1.9 billion in value into the Air Canada pilots’ agreement.”
