Air Canada’s plans to launch a discount leisure airline next winter is at risk of being delayed after pilots rejected a tentative labour pact.
Of the 2,831 votes cast, about 67 per cent rejected the proposed contract for the Air Canada Pilots Association.
Captain Paul Strachan, ACPA’s president, said the union will hone its bargaining strategy before notifying management to begin a new phase of contract talks.
“We have to hold union elections and we have to go through a checklist, which will include consultations with our members on what we’ll be looking for when we go back to the bargaining table,” he said in an interview Thursday.
Mr. Strachan emphasized that pilots will continue to work under the rules of a contract that expired March 31. Labour talks are slated to resume in late June or early July, depending on the timing for developing a new negotiating strategy, he said.
After ACPA members finished the 10-day voting process on Thursday, the tally showed 1,885 votes against the proposed collective agreement and 946 votes in favour. There was a huge turnout as nearly 98 per cent of 2,901 eligible voters cast ballots.
The rejection of the tentative deal casts uncertainty over the carrier’s proposals for starting a low-cost carrier and introducing pension reforms.
Management’s goal under a new labour contract is to pay lower wages at the discount leisure unit in order to compete against rivals flying to vacation destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Air Canada wants to start the low-cost division with six narrow-body Airbus A319s and four wide-body Boeing 767s next winter.
The Montreal-based carrier is also seeking to place new hires on defined-contribution pension plans, which don’t provide a guaranteed level of payout upon retirement.
“Company representatives will discuss with ACPA next steps towards finalizing a new collective agreement over the coming months,” the airline said in a statement. “Air Canada confirms it is business as usual for the airline and that customers can continue to book Air Canada flights with confidence.”
Air Canada management will strive for a new negotiating mandate from the board of directors after the “resounding rejection vote,” an industry official said.
Hundreds of pilots signed an online petition last month to express their opposition to the proposed accord, leading to the May 1 ouster of Captain Bruce White as chairman of ACPA’s master executive council. Three other union officials also stepped down after recall votes forced them out last week.
Elections to fill two vacancies on the local executive council in Toronto and one vacancy in Montreal will be completed in early June. Mr. Strachan said nominations for council chairman opened on Monday and will be considered until on or about June 10, when 12 elected union officials will choose a replacement for Mr. White.
Captain Jon Webster, ACPA’s secretary-treasurer and acting chairman of the council, asked pilots to be patient as union leaders review their strategy. “There is much to do, both on the flight deck and at your association,” he said in a message to pilots.
In mid-March, many pilots balked at what they viewed as the push for two tiers of rules – one at the mainline and the other at the low-cost carrier. The union cancelled the initial ratification vote scheduled for April, hoping to reopen talks with management. But ACPA said that after Air Canada refused to return to bargaining, the union rescheduled the vote.
