IFALPA has been informed by ALPA Canada that the Air Canada (AC) pilots have been in protracted negotiations with Air Canada management for over a year and they believe that they may be in a legal strike or lockout position on 18 September 2024.
Complicating matters are the recent actions by the Canadian government which has severely restricted the right to strike in the federal sector in Canada. The entire Canadian labour movement is very concerned that the Canadian government has seen fit on two recent occasions (one in rail and one in aviation) to subvert the normal bargaining process and the right to strike with mandatory binding arbitration to settle outstanding matters.
The Air Canada pilots have obtained a 98% strike vote with 98% of their members voting. They have a clear and unequivocal mandate from their pilots to obtain a collective agreement that recognizes their service and their sacrifice to the company over many difficult years and reflects their role in creating the record-breaking profits that Air Canada has seen since exiting the pandemic. The Air Canada pilots are essentially working under pay rates and quality-of-life
provisions negotiated in 2014.
On behalf of the Air Canada pilots, ALPA Canada requests the Mutual assistance outlined below, as per the IFALPA Industrial Manual, starting on 18 September 2024 at 0001 LT until further notice.
• Ban on Wet leasing (Para. 2.4.1)
• Freeze in Capacity (Para. 2.4.2.2)
• Assistance to Pilots Stranded Away from their Home Base (Para. 2.4.5)
ALPA Canada further requests Letters of support for the Air Canada pilots to be sent to the attention of First Officer Charlene Hudy, ACA MEC Chair, [email protected] and cc [email protected]
ALPA Canada will keep IFALPA and its Member Associations informed of any further developments.