Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Job offers with higher salaries for full-time positions are possible even if Quebec law says otherwise. Companies under federal jurisdiction can always do as they please. Air Canada is one of the companies benefiting from this.
Looking for baggage handlers and ramp employees at Montreal-Trudeau airport, the largest airline in the country is offering $16.60 per hour for a part-time position. The hourly rate reaches $21.11 for a full-time position.
Screenshot of Air Canada website
Ramp agent job offer posted on 1er June offers a different salary for the same work.
The Labor Standards Act (LNT) prohibits doing so, but since the company is under federal jurisdiction, it is subject to the Canada Labor Code, which does not go as far as section 41.1 of the Quebec law. This wage disparity is therefore not illegal, even if the Trudeau government has expressed the wish to correct the situation – without providing a timetable.
“We do exactly the same job and we have the same responsibilities,” denounces Guillaume Lingat, president of section 140 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). “The difference is that one employee works 20 hours a week and the other 40.”
Air Canada’s ways of doing things undermine the work climate, says the union.
We have part-timers who have been there for 10-15 years and who see a newcomer who accepts a full-time position and who earns more than them. They are outraged.
Guillaume Lingat, President of IAMAW Section 140
Among the other job offers consulted by The Press for baggage handler and ramp agent positions, no other company offers higher salaries to employees who opt for full-time employment.
At Swissport and Avjet/TCAS, which offer outsourcing services to air carriers, the hourly rate is the same for new recruits. In a context of labor scarcity, these two companies would have the right to imitate Air Canada since they come under the Canada Labor Code. It is the provisions of the employment contracts that are different.
No problem, says the company
In an email, Air Canada spokesperson Pascale Déry defended the company’s practices, stressing that they respected the collective agreement in force. The IAMAW confirmed this assertion.
Mr. Lingat says that these clauses have been part of collective agreements since the privatization of the air carrier in the late 1980s. The union is unable to convince the employer to waive them, adds Mr. Lingat.
“It’s rather unusual, in labor law, to see different levels of compensation for the same position,” observes François-Nicolas Fleury, a lawyer at Monette Barakett who specializes in labor law. “It is for this reason that in Quebec, we have legislated on this issue. We are talking about statutes, but about the frequency of work. »
Despite the special nature of the thing, Mr.e Fleury did not want to comment on the recruitment strategy put forward by Air Canada at Montreal-Trudeau airport.
When is the change?
The Trudeau government announced in 2018 that it wanted to “prohibit a gap between wage rates based on the employment status of employees”, but it is slow to move from words to action. Consultations on the issue have just ended, but Employment and Social Development Canada refuses to give a timetable.
In the short term, Air Canada has no intention of changing its ways.
“Our approach respects the law as it is today and collective agreements,” says Ms.me Dery. We are aware of the government’s intentions and are monitoring developments. »
The IAMAW has difficulty explaining how nearly four years have passed since the changes announced by the Trudeau government. The union accuses him of dragging his feet when there is a solution to correct an “injustice”.
“On government sites, it is suggested that [les disparités salariales] are illegal, but it is not in force. What’s the point of announcing changes when there’s no point? »
The employment contract of the Air Canada ramp agents represented by the IAMAW expires in 2026.