Air Canada Asks Government to Intervene as Pilot Strike Nears
(Bloomberg) — Air Canada is asking the federal government to intervene as early as Saturday to request arbitration ahead of a potential strike by pilots at the country’s largest airline.
The Montreal-based airline is set to start suspending flights Sunday as it prepares for a lockout as talks with more than 5,000 unionized pilots near an impasse. Fifteen months of negotiations between Air Canada and the Air Line Pilots Association have stalled over wages.
“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,” Air Canada spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said Thursday in a phone interview. Arbitration is “a path that seems reasonable.”
The airline and the union are planning to meet Thursday, though Hennebelle said there’s no certainty of reaching an agreement “because the union refuses to moderate its wage demands.”
The pilots’ union didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, but has said it’s pushing to close a wage gap with its US industry peers. The office of Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said in an emailed statement that it’s committed to the collective bargaining process.
Air Canada offered to boosts the pay of pilots by about 30% within the next three years. The pilots haven’t received a raise since last year. The union will be in a position to issue a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday. Air Canada would be able to issue a lockout notice at the same time if there’s no deal.
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