Another labor dispute threatens to disrupt operations at air carrier Transat AT Flight dispatchers voted 100% in favor of a strike mandate.
The Canadian Flight Dispatchers Association (CALDA), which represents 28 workers at the Montreal company, made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday.
The union says it is “disappointed” after the failure of conciliation talks which ended on April 2. The mandatory 21-day reflection period ended on April 23.
CALDA President Rob King says flight dispatchers are now in a position to strike. The press release does not specify a time when the walkout could take place, nor the duration of this potential means of pressure.
“No Air Transat aircraft can take off without approval of the flight plan by the flight dispatcher,” warns the union in a press release.
Both at Transat and at the union, it is stated that there is no immediate strike plan at the moment, in separate emails.
“At this time, there is no immediate timetable for the strike,” Mr. King said in an email. We hope, as was the case from the first day of negotiations, to reach an agreement at the table. CALDA will remain committed to reaching an agreement through negotiations. »
A strike vote “does not mean” that it will be called, Transat nuance. “This is a mechanism provided for in the Canada Labor Code and anticipated in the context of such negotiations,” comments company spokesperson Andréan Gagné. Neither the strike nor the lockout are in the objectives of these discussions. »
The employer considers that the union’s demands are “unreasonable”. “Not only because of the financial context in which Transat finds itself, but especially considering that our flight dispatchers are already the best paid in the industry. »
Transat claims to have presented an “unprecedented final and comprehensive offer” to the union on April 25, “including significant salary increases over three years, retroactive to October 31, 2022.” The proposal would also include “significant improvements that have been made to the convention on other subjects such as leave and vacation,” defends the company.
The employer claims that the union executive chose not to present the offer to members, a decision that the company deplores.
On the union side, we believe that the proposal does not reflect the position of flight dispatchers regarding their responsibilities, obligations and accountabilities in the context of their work.
A previous conflict that hurt
The strike vote comes just a few months after the threat of a flight attendant strike ate into Transat’s profitability during the holidays and in January. The fear of a potential labor conflict could once again put travelers off guard.
The president and CEO of Transat, Annick Guérard, recognized that the conflict had had an impact on profitability. “There was a clear correlation on our reservations, unfortunately,” she conceded when unveiling the most recent quarterly results in March.
“We have observed a clear decline in our reservations at different times,” she said. First, after the vote on a strike mandate in November. Afterwards, we saw a sharp increase in reservations after the signing of the two agreements in principle. We saw a significant slowdown after the rejection of the agreement in principle. »
Transat shares lost 3 cents, or 0.8 2%, to $3.62 at the opening of the session on the Toronto Stock Exchange.