Workers Must Still Approve Tentative Deal

In a tentative four-year agreement that still requires a vote by union members, Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) avoided a costly strike that would have affected more than 100,000 passengers per day as well as freight.

Air Canada said the terms of the agreement will remain confidential until after the vote by ALPA members. The vote is anticipated to be completed over the next month.

The union stated the deal means an increase of C$1.9 billion (USD$1.4 billion) over the four-year term, a 46% increase over the previous contract that expired in September 2023.

If the deal is approved, it would be backdated to September 30, 2023 and run until September 29, 2027.

The two parties had negotiated since June or 2023 over wage rates that pilots said would bring them closer to their counterparts at U.S. carriers such as United.

In a statement, First Officer Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council, said, "After several consecutive weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations, progress was made on several key issues including compensation, retirement, and work rules.”

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), "Negotiated agreements are always the best way forward and yield positive results for companies and workers," he said.

FMI:  media.aircanada.com/