Air Canada calls on government to intervene as labour dispute with pilots escalates

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada's largest airline and business leaders on Thursday urged the federal government to intervene in collective bargaining with pilots to avoid a shutdown, but the labour minister said both sides should negotiate a deal.

Christophe Hennebelle, a spokesman for Air Canada, said the airline was willing to negotiate but was faced with wage demands from the Air Line Pilots Association that it could not meet.

“The problem is that we are faced with unreasonable wage demands and ALPA refuses to mitigate them,” he said.

The union, which represents 5,200 pilots, says Air Canada continues to make record profits but expects pilots to accept below-average salaries.

The airline and its pilots have been in collective bargaining for more than a year. The pilots want to receive wages that are equal to those of their US colleagues.

Starting Sunday, either side can give 72 hours' notice of a strike or lockout. The airline has said the announcement would trigger its three-day downsizing plan and begin the deadline for a full work stoppage as early as September 18.

Hennebelle said the airline was not asking the government to intervene immediately, but must be prepared to help avoid major disruptions caused by the closure of an airline that carries more than 110,000 passengers a day.

“The government should be prepared to step in and ensure that we do not create these disruptions for the benefit of Canadians,” he said.

Numerous business associations met in Ottawa on Thursday to call for measures – including binding arbitration – to avoid the economic disruption that would result from the airline's closure.

Arbitration “can help the parties reach a successful resolution and avoid all the potential impacts that we are talking about here today,” Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said at a press conference.

Goldy Hyder, executive director of the Business Council of Canada, said in a statement that Canada cannot afford another major disruption to its transportation network.

“A work stoppage at Air Canada would severely impact our economy,” Hyder said in a statement.

Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon said at a press conference on Wednesday evening that both sides should reach an agreement.

“There is no reason why these parties cannot reach a collective agreement,” he said.

“It should be clear to these parties what my message to them today is: get to work and get a deal done.”

In August, the Canadian government asked the country’s Industry and Trade Committee to issue a return to work order to end a railway closure.

“There are significant differences between these two situations, and we will leave it at that,” MacKinnon said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday his party would not support efforts to force pilots to return to work.

“If there are legislative proposals to return to work, we will oppose them,” he said.