MONTREAL, May 28 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today that marathon
negotiations with its unions facilitated by Mr. Justice Warren Winkler, the
court-appointed facilitator, are now concluded with tentative agreements
reached with all its unions except the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA).
The pilots` union is presently considering the company`s last proposal which
is consistent with the cost savings target set by the company and follows the
approach taken with other labour groups.
Tentative agreements were reached late Tuesday with the International
Association of Machinists and Aeropace Workers (IAMAW) representing 11,000
technical operations and airport ground service personnel, CUPE representing
6,700 flight attendants and CALDA representing the airline`s 100 flight
dispatchers. A tentative agreement had been reached earlier with the CAW
Airline Division, representing 6,000 customer sales and service agents and
crew schedulers. Tentative agreements have also been reached with all unions
representing Air Canada Jazz employees - the Airline Pilots Association
(ALPA), CALDA, CUPE and Teamsters Canada.
The cost reductions in the agreements reached to date were primarily
obtained through productivity improvements including workforce reduction and
wage rollbacks. The agreements are subject to ratification by union
membership.
The company has agreed that pension benefits will be unaffected. Mr. Justice Warren Winkler was appointed on May 9, 2003 by Mr. Justice
James Farley of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to facilitate Air
Canada`s labour cost restructuring under CCAA. On May 21, at Justice Winkler`s
request, Air Canada presented comprehensive proposals to its unions outlining
the specific cost reductions required by each labour group at Air Canada and
Air Canada Jazz. In order to accelerate the restructuring process, Justice
Winkler set a 5:00 p.m. EDT May 27 as a deadline for the company and its
unions to reach negotiated agreements. The deadline was subsequently extended
to 9:00 p.m. EDT.
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