Air Canada pilots who nearly went on strike last month have ratified a new collective agreement with the airline, the pilots’ union announced Thursday.
The ratification, which the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said in a statement was approved by 67 per cent of members who voted, ensures pilots will have a contract until 2027 that includes “significant” pay increases and “improvements to quality of life.”
“This contract is the largest labour agreement in Air Canada’s history and reflects contributions that our pilots bring to the success of our airline,” Charlene Hudy, first officer and chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council, said in the statement.
“This agreement helps restore what Air Canada pilots have lost over the past two decades and creates a strong foundation from which to build on.”
The union, which represents more than 5,200 Air Canada pilots, had threatened to walk off the job last month after contract talks stalled, which could have disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers.
A tentative agreement was announced shortly after a midnight deadline when the airline or the union were due to issue a 72-hour strike or lockout notice.
The terms of the agreement have not been publicly shared, but according to a copy of the executive summary viewed by Global News, pilots will get an approximately 41.7 per cent cumulative pay increase over four years.
The pay raise will backdate to Sept. 30, 2023, with an average 26 per cent increase, followed by four per cent increments every year until 2026, according to the document.
ALPA has said the new contract will generate approximately an additional $1.9 billion of value for Air Canada pilots over four years.
In a statement, Air Canada said it welcomed the ratification.
“We are very pleased this new collective agreement has been approved by our pilot group,” president and CEO Michael Rousseau said. “The agreement is mutually beneficial and it will keep our pilots the best compensated in Canada and provide the work-life balance improvements they were seeking.”
In the lead-up to the strike deadline, the two sides said they remained far apart on the issue of pay, which was central in the negotiations that had stretched for more than a year.
In preparation for the shutdown, Air Canada limited certain types of cargo shipments, such as perishables, and adjusted some aircraft flying schedules. No flights were cancelled, however.
The federal government declined to intervene in the labour dispute, despite forcing an end to a rail shutdown the month before, although Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon had appealed to both the airline and the union to reach a deal by highlighting the economic and consumer impacts of a work stoppage.
A shutdown would have led to travel disruptions for the 670 daily flights on average operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge and the travel of more than 110,000 passengers.
— with files from Global’s Saba Aziz