Vote Shows Air Canada Pilots United for Negotiated Contract

Vote Shows Air Canada Pilots United for Negotiated Contract

14 February 2012

TORONTO - Air Canada pilots have voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike mandate, giving their Associationan overwhelming mandate to achieve a negotiated agreement at the bargaining table. More than 97 per cent ofthe pilots took part in the vote.

 

“This vote demonstrates that Air Canada pilots are united in their desire to reach a freely negotiatedagreement,” said Captain Paul Strachan, President of the Air Canada Pilots Association. “The corporation mustnow recognize the resolve of Air Canada pilots and come to the bargaining table with a renewed commitment tonegotiations in good faith.”

 

Captain Strachan also reassured the airline’s passengers that the pilots do not want a strike. “Pilotswere forced to take this vote as a defensive measure because the corporation chose to put itself in a legallock out position,” he said. “Air Canada pilots have demonstrated their commitment to reaching a negotiatedsettlement by continuing to fly under a contract that expired in March 2011.”

 

Negotiations will continue with the assistance of a new federal mediator, to be appointed by federalLabour Minister Lisa Raitt.

 

``We welcome the federal government`s support for free collective bargaining,`` Captain Strachan said.

 

Air Canada pilots have been unable to freely negotiate a contract for more than a decade. Their lastagreement froze their pay for more than two years and provided their airline with hundreds of millions ofdollars in relief from the corporation`s pension funding obligations.

 

``Air Canada pilots have been more than fair and reasonable, maintaining their professionalism throughoutthese difficult negotiations. We trust the corporation will match the pilots` commitment to reach anegotiated settlement and, as such, there is no reason why our passengers should be concerned about theirtravel plans.`` 

 

The Air Canada Pilots Association is the largest professional pilot group in Canada, representing the3,000 pilots who operate Air Canada’s mainline fleet.

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Contact: Paul Howard, Director of Communications 905-678-9008 ext. 222 phoward@acpa.ca

 

 

Submitted by ACPA on February 14, 2012

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