(Montreal) Air Canada pilots have given the green light to an agreement in principle with the airline, allaying any fears of a future strike.
The International Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) said aviators voted 67 percent in favor of ratification.
The agreement grants the carrier’s 5,400 pilots a cumulative salary increase of nearly 42% over four years.
This increase exceeds the significant gains achieved last year by pilots at the three largest US airlines, where pay hikes ranged between 34 and 40% – although they started from a higher base level .
Despite the sharp increase, the fact that around a third of pilots voted to reject the deal reveals a division on issues such as work schedules, quality of life and a significant pay gap between new hires and crew more experienced.
“It shows there is room for improvement,” said Charlene Hudy, who chairs the union’s Air Canada contingent. There is currently a contingent of my pilots who clearly disagree with me. »
“It’s not a perfect deal,” she told reporters during a conference call.
Nevertheless, Mme Hudy highlighted that this was the largest labor contract in the company’s 87-year history, adding 1.9 billion values to the previous agreement.
“We pushed Air Canada as far as we could to get as much value out of it as possible,” she argued.
Air Canada also welcomed the pilots’ approval.
“This is a win-win agreement that will ensure our pilots will continue to be the highest paid in Canada and enjoy the improvements they have been asking for in work-life balance,” said President and CEO, Michael Rousseau, in a press release. Furthermore, the agreement gives our company the flexibility it needs, while allowing it to create a framework for its future growth and that of its network. »
The agreement in principle, reached in mid-September after more than a year of negotiations, made it possible to avoid a strike which would have led to the cancellation of 670 flights and affected 110,000 passengers per day.
In recent weeks, the union has held roadshows to members about the potential deal.
Mme Hudy had warned her colleagues during a virtual town hall last month that she would resign if they chose to reject the deal, raising the stakes as pilots debated whether to accept the pay gains or try to negotiate another agreement. The Canadian Press obtained a copy of his statement and confirmed its contents with two pilots.
Greater negotiating power
A global shortage of pilots, a desire to maintain reservations and a warning from the federal government that it would not intervene in the event of a work stoppage have all helped to give the union greater bargaining power than that which he had been able to dispose of during negotiations a decade earlier, said Jacques Roy, professor of transport management at the HEC Montreal business school.
Air Canada probably thought it would be better for it to grant the increase and buy some peace of mind, some stability in its operations, even if that means its operating costs will increase.
Jacques Roy, professor of transport management at the HEC Montréal business school
The previous agreement included salary increases of 2% per year over a 10-year period.
About 99% of eligible pilots voted in the consultation, the union said.
The contract is effective immediately, retroactive to September 2023 and expiring on September 29, 2027.
Pilots will benefit from a 26% salary increase for the past financial year and increases of 4% in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Under the new and previous agreements, pilots earn significantly less during their first four years with the company before receiving a big pay increase starting in the fifth year.
Some employees had lobbied for the complete removal of the so-called “flat rate” provision, under which income remains stable regardless of the type of aircraft flown. Typically, salaries increase with aircraft size. But the freshly signed agreement would only reduce the four-year period of lower salary to two years, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The Canadian Press.
Even in the third and fourth years, salaries would be significantly lower than in the fifth year. The hourly rate increases by almost 40% in the fifth year, a much larger increase than during any other period, the agreement states.
Assuming pilots work about 75 hours per month – a common industry baseline – new hires will now earn between $75,700 and $134,000, compared to nearly $187,000 in the fifth year and more than $367,000 for an experienced captain flying a Boeing 777.
With the recent hires, experts say more than a third of the carrier’s approximately 5,200 active pilots could currently earn entry-level salaries. Many of them are not fresh out of school, but come to Air Canada after long careers with other airlines.