Carrier Seeks Government Interference to Prevent Shutdown

Air Canada officials have resorted to asking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for assistance as contract negotiations with its pilots fail. Without this edge, the airline could be forced to cease operations in mid-September.

Negotiations between Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents over 5,000 of the carrier’s pilots, began in June 2023. The two have recently landed in a standoff as they continue to debate wages, with Air Canada’s latest offer being a 30% raise over three years. By September 15, the union will be in position to submit a strike notice and Air Canada to stage a lockout.

To prepare for a potential union strike, Air Canada has already started to turn down cargo service requests and cancel passenger flights to ensure no one gets abandoned abroad.

In a somewhat underhanded move, the airline has since turned to the Canadian government to request arbitration if no progress is made in negotiations.

“Our goal is to reach a deal, but if there is no conclusion by Saturday, we ask the government to be ready to intervene to avoid these disruptions for Canadians,” explained Air Canada spokesman Christophe Hennebelle. She later described the decision as “a path that seems reasonable.”

ALPA’s local head, Charlene Hudy, couldn’t agree less: “Both parties should really try to get to the best deal possible without any government interference.”

If the matter cannot be settled, Air Canada may have a two-week pilot strike on their hands. This could cost the carrier $1.4 billion in profit loss. In the nation’s already damaged economy, the impact of this strike would be significant.

“We cannot allow for even a single day of a strike given the consequences on our already very fragile economy,” explained Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada. “It would amount to government playing Russian roulette with our economy and we just can’t afford that at this time.”

FMI: www.aircanada.com, www.alpa.org