After nine years of labour peace, Air Canada's pilots have exercised an option to pull out early from a 10-year agreement, setting the stage for contract negotiations starting this summer.
The agreement will now expire at the end of September. The move comes in the wake of WestJet pilots signing a four-year deal that will give them a 24% pay increase, including a 15.5% increase for this year, retroactive to January 1.
The Air Canada pilot's group joined the larger Air Line Pilots Association earlier this month, the same union that represents WestJet pilots.
Under the existing agreement signed in 2014, the 4,500 members of Air Canada's pilots' union received a 2% annual increase.
"Our pilots have elected to use the option that was available to them to terminate the collective agreement after nine years," Air Canada told CBC News in a statement.
"The current agreement ... is a testimony of the productive relationship we have with our pilots. We expect the upcoming negotiations to be conducted in this same spirit."
WestJet's deal came down to the wire, with over 230 flights cancelled as the airline prepared for a pilot strike. Forward bookings were also damaged by the uncertainty.
At the time, aviation consultant Rick Erickson told Canadian Press: "You can bet that Air Canada's pilot union will be looking at this very, very closely."
The North American aviation market was rocked when cabin and flight crew at Delta Air Lines recently negotiated a new contract that earned them a 34% pay increase. Then American Airlines pilots got as far as authorizing a strike earlier this month before reaching a preliminary deal.
"The Air Canada pilots are looking forward to working with the Company towards 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," ALPA told CBC News in a statement.
Topics From This Article to Explore
