Air Canada pilots could go on strike within weeks, but both the union representing pilots and the airline say they are working to negotiate.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing the pilots, says they are hoping to avoid a work stoppage but are prepared to go on strike if the impasse continues.
Several rounds of talks took place between the airline and the union between January and June. At the end of June, however, they entered a 60-day period of federal consultation. In less than two weeks, a 21-day cooling period will begin, ending mid-September.
If an agreement is not reached by then, pilots could go on strike.
“We want to reach an agreement with Air Canada to avert a strike and although we have made some progress in conciliation, management continues to force us closer to a strike position by not listening to our most pressing needs at the negotiating table regarding fair compensation, respectable retirement benefits, and quality-of-life improvements,” Charlene Hudy, ALPA’s Air Canada Master Executive Council (MEC) chair, told Global News.
Hudy said while they made headway in the talks between January and June, they had reached an “impasse” with Air Canada on some key issues.
The airline, however, said negotiations are continuing.
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“Already, we have reached agreement on several items. We are working actively to reach agreement on the remaining issues with an aim to finalize a deal over the next several weeks,” an Air Canada spokesperson told Global News.
They added that since no action was possible by either side until mid-September, it would be “business as usual” until then, “with Air Canada operating as normal.”
Air Canada pilots are currently in the process of a strike vote, which closes on Aug. 22.
Hudy said if members vote for a strike mandate, the union would be empowered under the Canada Labour Code to walk off the job when the cooling-off period ends.
“Our goal is to avoid a strike, and our focus remains on negotiating a modern contract that Air Canada pilots will strongly vote in favour of. At this time, we are not seeing the significant movement we need to from Air Canada,” Hudy said.
The negotiations at Air Canada follow a strike at Canada’s other major airline, WestJet, where the mechanics’ union went on strike in July over the Canada Day weekend. The strike disrupted the travel plans of more than 100,000 travellers.
On July 12, WestJet mechanics ratified a new collective agreement. The new five-year agreement includes wage increases that “reflect the value that these highly skilled engineers add to the maintenance technical operations by ensuring the airline’s fleet is fit and safe for flight,” according to Bret Oestriech, national president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).