Air Canada pilots are expected to begin voting on their proposed new contract on Tuesday, 01OCT. But pilots say approval is far from certain.
One Air Canada pilot told Open Jaw the Air Line Pilots Association has provided its members with the full tentative agreement (TA) it announced with Air Canada management on 15SEP, along with a comprehensive list of all proposed contract changes.
Pilots are now asking questions at in-person road shows or with individual ALPA representatives.
“Nobody is particularly pleased with the tentative agreement,” the AC pilot told Open Jaw. “Junior pilots didn’t make the pay gains they were expecting, and the quality of life improvements just aren’t there. Now we’re mulling over whether or not a ‘no’ vote will result in any improvements to the TA or if it’ll just result in a stalemate.
“I’ve talked to people in both the “yes” and “no” camps as well as people who are still straddling the line.”
The pilot source said voting on the TA begins 01OCT and closes at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, 10OCT, just as many Canadians will be getting ready for Thanksgiving Day weekend travel.
With a potential strike just minutes away, Air Canada on 15SEP said it had reached a four-year deal with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents more than 5,200 pilots at Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge.
The union said the four-year deal has a value of $1.9 billion and contains pay hikes of 41.7%. But CTV News on 18SEP said low entry-level pay in the tentative deal could be a stumbling block ahead during the 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.
After 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.”
It’s worth noting that Air Transat flight attendants earlier this year twice rejected tentative deals with the company.
It’s not clear what would happen if Air Canada pilots rejected the union-management tentative deal.
