Air Canada pilots protest across country as strike threat looms

Air Canada pilots demonstrated at airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Winnipeg on Tuesday to “demonstrate [leur] solidarity towards the modernization of a decade-old contract.”

After what was called an information picket, a spokeswoman for the International Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) said about 2,000 pilots took part in the protest.

This comes after the end of the 60-day federal conciliation period and a strike vote, (New window) last week, during which 98% of pilots authorized the use of strike action if necessary.

A 21-day cooling-off period begins on August 28, and 5,400 pilots will be in a legal position to strike from September 18 if no agreement is reached.

Charlene Hudy, chair of Air Canada’s executive board, said the goal is to avoid a strike, but that pilots are willing to do whatever it takes to secure a deal that is commensurate with the value they bring .

A desire for modernize the agreement

With the last agreement having been negotiated in 2014, the pilots have indicated their desire to modernize their collective agreement. Fair pay, better pension benefits and improved quality of life are the major demands of Air Canada pilots.

Negotiations have been ongoing since June 2023, and the parties used private mediation from January to June 2024. The union then requested conciliation, because The two sides were unable to reach an agreement.

A salary difference with the United States

The vast majority of our American colleagues earn double our salary.explains Jesse Jantzi, vice-president of the Air Canada senior executive council.

Jesse Jantzi adds that the new agreement signed by WestJet pilots is considered in their analysis. They raised the bar, but it’s up to us to go highershe adds.

John Gradek, director of McGill University’s aviation management program, confirms that the gap between American and Canadian salaries is significant.

According to him, it is not possible that the salary will be the same as in the United States, but we can get close to it .

John Gradek hopes the strike can be avoided, but adds that if he were a pilot, he would wait until closer to Thanksgiving to call a strike.

To really get the attention of executive managers and to put the focus on Air Canada.

Air Canada maintains its position of to reach a fair agreement with its pilots that recognizes their professionalism and their contribution to the airline .

According to the company, significant progress took place, and the period of reflection leaves plenty of time to resolve outstanding issues .