A decade after its closure, Aveos is at the heart of a new dispute. Former employees of the aircraft maintenance specialist are claiming some $3 million from the union that represented them, alleging a “violation” of its duty to represent.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
This complaint by some 125 former employees of the company has just been filed with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) – a quasi-judicial tribunal – and targets the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). ).
After seeing Aveos shut down its maintenance centers in the spring of 2012, these workers decided to withdraw their funds from the pension plan of Air Canada, the company they worked for before being transferred to a new entity in 2011.
The plaintiffs allege that they were unaware that this choice would deprive them of the right to pocket new sums, nearly 10 years after having lost their livelihood. In their complaint filed last Friday, they blame the IAMAW.
“The union was aware of this option of the right of withdrawal that the workers could exercise, but did not inform them of the risks associated with this”, explains Bruno-Pierre Allard, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, in a telephone interview with The Press.
The CIRB will have to decide if the complaint is admissible. The IAMAW had not commented on the allegations as of Monday.
An exchange
In the financial turmoil of 2009 following the financial crisis, Air Canada reached an agreement with six unions – including the IAMAW – representing more than 20,000 employees to obtain a temporary holiday from contributions to pension plans having registered a solvency deficit of 3 billion. The largest carrier in the country deposits 17.6 million shares in a trust. The IAMAW held nearly 36% of the shares of this fund.
At the time, the value of these titles was estimated at nearly 24 million. Last November, Air Canada and the unions announced an agreement to “reassign” the shares, whose value fluctuated around 455 million. This represents an average sum of $22,800 per person.
With no more funds in the Air Canada plan, the plaintiffs represented by Mr.and Allard are not eligible for this settlement at this time.
“We had withdrawn our pension fund to place it in our financial institution, relates Gilles Talbot, one of the complainants. No one told us that we would not be part of the settlement at the time. We were left out again. This is why we would like to be part of the group. »
Mr. Talbot is one of 2,600 Aveos employees who lost their jobs when the company closed its maintenance centers located in Montreal, Mississauga (Ontario) and Winnipeg (Manitoba).
The plaintiffs seek an amount equal to the “recapitalization value” of the pension fund as well as an additional $5,000 for damages. Other members could be added.
Air Canada is cited in the complaint filed with the CIRB, but in this case, nothing is reproached to it. The company may, however, be called upon to provide documentation if the process goes ahead.
Looking forward to
The former Aveos workers have filed a class action lawsuit against the airline, which they accuse of not having respected the federal law which obliged it to maintain its maintenance centers in Montreal, Mississauga and Winnipeg.
During the trial, which took place before the Superior Court of Quebec last October, the plaintiffs’ lawyers had notably alleged that the company had deliberately caused the debacle of the maintenance specialist by withdrawing contracts from him.
Judge Marie-Christine Hivon has not yet rendered her decision. Air Canada could have tens of millions to pay if the Aveos alumni win their case.
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- Approximate number Aveos had in its Montreal facilities at the time of its closure