Air Canada pilots could threaten strike in winter

Union decides to end decade-long collective agreement a year early

Air Canada pilots have opened the gate to launch negotiations on a new collective agreement a year early.

The Air Line Pilots Association — the union representing the pilots of Canada’s largest airline — said in an email to the Star on Tuesday that Air Canada pilots have “invoked a clause” to end their 10-year collective agreement ahead of time and initiate bargaining a new one as early as this summer.

The union said pilots are aiming to negotiate “a contract that addresses career progression and job security issues for its pilots, and closes the growing wage gap between the U.S. and Canada.”

Air Canada said in an email “the existing contract, which has been in place for nearly a decade, is a testimony to the productive relationship we have with our pilots. We expect the upcoming negotiations to be conducted in this same spirit.”

The current agreement with pilots is in force until Sept. 29, Air Canada said. Since landing on a 10year collective agreement in 2014, Air Canada pilots have received a two per cent pay hike each year.

This news comes on the heels of a 24 per cent pay bump over four years won by WestJet pilots, Canada’s second-largest airline, earlier this month, in a deal that narrowly dodged a strike at the last minute. Some 1,800 pilots demanding better wages were poised to walk off the job.

The Air Canada Pilots Association — whose 4,500-odd members only two weeks ago joined the Air Line

Bargaining for a new deal could start as early as this summer

Pilots Association, which WestJet flight crews also belong to — can kick off negotiations with a notice to bargain as early as June 1. The merger means 95 per cent of professional Canadian pilots are represented by a single union, according to Charlene Hudy, the Air Canada union’s council chair.

While strike action is unlikely this summer, passengers can expect the threat of Air Canada pilots walking off the job sometime around the winter holiday season or spring 2024, said John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive who now lectures in aviation management at McGill University.

“The odds are that there will be a threat of a strike,” Gradek said. “That’s how ALPA typically works and we saw that with WestJet.”

When asked about the likelihood of strike action taking place, Air Canada said: “it would be premature to speculate about negotiations” because a notice to bargain to begin talks has not yet been received.

Labour shortages continue to plague the aviation industry, with a scarcity of workers in areas ranging from air traffic control to ground handling as the sector begins to take off again after the pandemic collapse and subsequent travel turmoil.

Last year, Toronto Pearson International Airport was ranked the worst airport in the world for delays, with thousands of flights delayed or cancelled, leaving passengers stranded and bags lost in the wake of COVID-19 flight restrictions being lifted.

Since then, the airport has hired 10,000 employees, giving it 22 per cent more staff, or 50,000 workers.

The increase includes the hiring of 130 workers announced last week to help in critical areas such as busing, baggage handling and terminal operations.

However, industry experts say carriers, airport and personnel are still being pushed to their limits, and the move by Air Canada pilots should come as no surprise, said David Gillen, director of the Centre for Transportation Studies at University of British Columbia.

“It’s exactly what you would expect when you have a scarcity of resources,” Gillen said. “The pilots are really being asked to perform right on the edge in the sense that every aircraft is being utilized to the fullest.”

In March, pilots with Delta Air Lines secured a deal that includes a 34 per cent pay hike over four years.

American Airlines pilots authorized a strike amid contract negotiations earlier this month before reaching a preliminary deal last week.

United Airlines pilots are also in the middle of talks, pushing for even higher pay than their Delta counterparts, as well as comparable quality-of-life provisions.

Those might include clauses that prevent airlines from requiring pilots to accept assignments on days off.