Business and tourism industry groups are asking the Canadian government to intervene and help prevent a strike by Air Canada pilots as the clock ticks on negotiations.
Unless a settlement is reached by Sunday, either Air Canada or the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents 5,200 Air Canada pilots, could issue a 72-hour lockout or strike notice.
The heads of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, Conseil du patronat du Québec, and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario issued statements on Thursday, calling on the federal government to prevent further disruptions to Canada’s transportation networks.
“Canadians and businesses nationwide are going to suffer the consequences of labour disruption in the air travel industry. They are not at the negotiating table and are powerless to control the outcomes. We need proactive, decisive action from all actors and from the federal government to ensure we can avoid more damaging consequences for everyone,” said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Andrew Siegwart, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, said, “Thousands of Canadians are relying on flights for critical business, healthcare, and personal reasons. Even a brief suspension will leave many stranded and further strain an already stressed tourism industry.”
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party would “never support” any back-to-work legislation.
“We’re going to send a clear message again that we are opposed to Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, or any government, interfering with workers,” he said at his party’s caucus retreat in Montreal.
Singh added, “If there’s any bills being proposed on back-to-work legislation, we’re going to oppose that. We’re going to fight back against that. We’re never going to support back-to-work.”
The NDP leader accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s recent comments about the looming strike and opposing back-to-work legislation of amounting to “cosplay.”
“He voted eight times to force workers back to work. This is someone with a proven track record of hurting workers, of opposing workers’ interests,” he said.
Speaking at a press conference earlier in Ottawa on Wednesday, Poilievre had called for a “fair deal” and for Air Canada to negotiate in “good faith” with the union workers.
“I would call on Air Canada to negotiate in good faith with the pilots,” Poilievre said.
“We’re not going to support preempting those negotiations. We stand with the pilots and their right to fight for a fair deal, good wages.”
ALPA on Thursday set up a “strike headquarters” near Toronto Pearson Airport. The union said in a statement this was being done to to support its members if a strike occurs.
“Air Canada has the power to avert a strike and the significant air travel disruptions that flow from it, but first they have to get serious at the bargaining table and recognize the value our pilots brings to the airline,” said First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council (MEC).
“Should Air Canada force a strike or lockout and operational shutdown, we need to ensure our pilots are fully supported, as they will be displaced around the globe,” she added.
Air Canada is working on plans to start suspending operations ahead of a looming pilot strike, the carrier said in a statement Monday morning.
Flight cancellations could start as early as Friday.
Air Canada president and CEO Michael Rousseau said in a statement that while there was still time to reach an agreement with the pilots, “Canadians have recently seen the chaos abrupt airline shutdowns cause for travellers, which obliges us to do everything we can to protect our customers from an increasingly likely work stoppage.”
The 72-hour shutdown notice period could begin anytime after midnight on Sunday, with operations expected to come to a complete halt by Wednesday, Sept. 18. However, some operations would have to start winding down as early as Friday, the airline said.
Rosseau said 80 per cent of Air Canada’s passengers could be affected by work stoppages. The airline said it will begin an “orderly shutdown” of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations once a strike or lockout notice is issued.
Air Canada Express flights will continue to operate, as third-party carriers Jazz and PAL Airlines provide these services. However, these regional partners carry only about 20 per cent of Air Canada’s daily customers, many of whom ultimately connect on Air Canada flights.
The airline said a work stoppage could affect 110,000 passengers a day.
ALPA has not set a strike date, but the pilots have voted overwhelmingly to approve a strike mandate if an agreement on a new contract cannot be reached.
Under the airline’s policy, customers with tickets for travel between Sept. 15 and 23 can rebook on any other Air Canada flight with the same origin and destination up to Nov. 30 at no additional cost.
Customers who want to cancel and rebook their travel for after that date will have their change fees waived but will have to pay any fare difference.
The pilots’ union says negotiations had stalled as of last week.
The union and aviation experts say Air Canada pilots’ wages have not kept pace with the wages of their counterparts in the United States.
John Gradek, an aviation expert at McGill University, said Air Canada pilots get paid significantly less compared to their U.S. counterparts.
“There is a lot of catching up that has to be done both in terms of working conditions as well as salaries. The U.S. carriers have been significantly bumping up salaries for their pilots over the last 18 to 24 months, between 35 and 45 per cent increases,” he said.