Canada’s largest airline and enterprise leaders on Thursday urged the federal authorities to intervene in labor talks with its pilots in hopes of avoiding a shutdown, however the labor minister mentioned the 2 sides ought to negotiate a deal.
Air Canada spokesman Christophe Hennebelle mentioned that the airline is dedicated to negotiations, but it surely faces wage calls for from the Air Line Pilots Affiliation it could actually’t meet.
“The issue is that we are faced with unreasonable wage demands that ALPA refuses to moderate,” he mentioned.
The union representing 5,200 pilots says Air Canada continues to submit file earnings whereas anticipating pilots to simply accept below-market compensation.
The airline and its pilots have been in contract talks for greater than a 12 months. The pilots wish to be paid wages aggressive with their U.S. counterparts.
The 2 sides will probably be able beginning Sunday to difficulty a 72-hour discover of a strike or lockout. The airline has mentioned the discover would set off its three-day wind down plan and begin the clock on a full work stoppage as early as Sept. 18.
Hennebelle mentioned the airline isn’t asking for quick intervention from the federal government, however that it ought to be ready to assist keep away from main disruptions from a shutdown of an airline that carries greater than 110,000 passengers a day.
“The government should be ready to step in and make sure that we are not entering into that disruption for the benefit of Canadians,” he mentioned.
Quite a few enterprise teams convened in Ottawa on Thursday to name for motion — together with binding arbitration — to keep away from the financial disruptions a shutdown of the airline would trigger.
Arbitration “can help bring the parties to a successful resolution and avoid all the potential impacts we’re here to talk about today,” Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, advised a information convention.
Goldy Hyder, chief government of the Enterprise Council of Canada, mentioned in a press release Canada can’t afford one other main disruption to its transportation community.
“A labor disruption at Air Canada would ripple through our economy,” Hyder mentioned in a press release.
Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon advised a information convention Wednesday evening the 2 sides ought to attain a deal.
“There’s no reason for these parties not to be able to achieve a collective agreement,” he mentioned.
“These parties should be under no ambiguity as to what my message is to them today. Knuckle down, get a deal.”
In August, the Canadian authorities requested the nation’s industrial relations board to difficulty a back-to-work order to finish a railway shutdown.
“There are significant differences between those two situations and leave it at that,” MacKinnon mentioned.
NDP Chief Jagmeet Singh mentioned Thursday his occasion wouldn’t help efforts to pressure pilots again to work.
“If there’s any bills being proposed on back to work legislation, we’re going to oppose that,” he mentioned.
