AC pilots will vote on AC offer

Air Canada pilots are going to vote on the latest offer from Air Canada, however, their association is recommending that they reject the offer and “send a message to their employer to get serious about negotiations.” Captain Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA), said in a statement that: “The corporation pulled a dramatic u-turn yesterday [March 7] on the first day of our return to bargaining. After committing to a federal mediation process that was to last up to 180 days, the corporation instead chose to table what it termed its ‘final’ offer only 23 days into the process, without any serious effort to bridge our differences by negotiating in good faith.” As a result, Captain Strachan said: “We think Air Canada pilots should be given the opportunity to tell the corporation directly what they think of its offer and its actions in this round of bargaining.” ACPA made it clear, however, that the vote is not the result of a tentative agreement. There is no agreement. The association is recommending that the pilots reject the offer. ACPA’s boss said that “This offer continues the corporation’s pattern of behaviour over the last decade and demands even more concessions from our pilots. It’s ridiculous that the corporation continues to focus on squeezing a group of professionals whose compensation represents only about 4% of revenue. Having provided ongoing concessions amounting to several billion dollars over the last nine years, it’s high time that Air Canada recognized the value created by its experienced professional pilots who fly thousands of passengers safely and efficiently to their destinations every day.” In February, the pilots signalled their displeasure with the corporation’s actions by voting 97% in favour of a strike; however, the pilots’ have not called for any form of industrial action and have consistently maintained the same goal – a negotiated settlement. Go to http://www.acpa.ca .