The airline would essentially be grounded with no pilots or ground crews. All eyes now turn to Ottawa to see if Labour Minister Lisa Raitt will step in as she did with Air Canada’s flight attendants last fall, blocking a walkout.
Raitt is expected to speak to reporters in Ottawa this afternoon after question period.
Air Canada said it tabled “its final and best offer” to the pilots’ union on Wednesday and set a noon Thursday deadline for acceptance and it was rejected.
“We need to bring closure to the ongoing climate of labour uncertainty at Air Canada which is affecting our customers, destabilizing the Company and our operations, and damaging the Air Canada brand,” said Duncan Dee, executive vice president and chief operating Officer, in a news release.
He noted that talks have been protracted having gone on for 18 months, and the offer was very fair.
Dee added that the lines of communication remain open and that the company hopes the union will take advantage of this time to accept the final offer.
In a separate news release, the Air Canada Pilots Association said pilots will vote on the latest offer, which is not a tentative deal. The union is recommending rejection to send a strong message to management.
“The corporation pulled a dramatic U-turn yesterday on the first day of our return to bargaining,” said Paul Strachan, president of the Air Canada Pilots Association.
“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.”
He added: “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.”
The pilots, who have now been negotiating on and off for 18 months, have been a legal strike position since Feb. 14.
But they have always insisted they don’t want a labour disruption.
Dave Ritchie, a union leader with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represent the airline’s 8,600 ground crews, told reporters Wednesday that he fears Raitt with intervene in some way to block a strike or will legislate them back to work.
Last fall, Raitt blocked a strike by flight attendants by referring the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
The two sides then agreed to binding arbitration.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Vanessa Lu
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