Bombardier | The offer is accepted and the strike is avoided

The specter of a strike has dissipated at Bombardier since 1,800 Quebec employees of the aircraft manufacturer have accepted the employer’s final offer providing for wage increases of 18.5% over five years.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

At the end of the vote, which lasted until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the proposal received the support of approximately 73.4% of the employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). ). The participation rate was 80.3%.

“Despite the fact that the offer was accepted, Bombardier will have work to do over the next five years to regain the confidence of workers and rebuild the sense of belonging,” tempered union spokesperson Éric Rancourt, in a press release.

This outcome puts an end to more than nine months of talks between the two parties – a process marked by a day of walkout on June 13 and the participation of the President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier Éric Martel in a negotiation session with the ‘AIMTA.

In a short statement, the company said it was “pleased with the results of the vote”.

The 1,800 employees, whose collective agreement expired last December, assemble the Challenger business jets in Dorval. They also work in the Montreal plant in the borough of Saint-Laurent, where parts such as the Global 7500 cockpit are manufactured.

The first so-called final offer was rejected on June 11. An indefinite general strike would have been called if IAMAW members had said no to their employer again. The duration of the collective agreement, wages, subcontracting and indexation of retirement pensions were at the heart of the points in dispute.

“Beyond salaries, we went to seek the guarantee that no task will be outsourced for the next five years in addition to bringing work to our members,” added Mr. Rancourt.

For the first year of the employment contract, workers will be entitled to a salary increase of 6.5% retroactive to December 4, 2021.

Last summer, a labor dispute broke out at the Toronto plant Downsview when its 1,200 Unifor employees went on strike. Production of the Global 7500, the aircraft manufacturer’s spearhead, had been interrupted for a few days.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Bombardier’s Class B stock fell 3.54%, or 85 cents, to close at $23.16. The aircraft manufacturer had the green light to carry out a consolidation of shares on June 13th.