Employer’s offer | Bombardier is told no by approximately 1,800 Quebec workers

The impasse persists between Bombardier and 1,800 workers of its Quebec workers responsible in particular for the assembly of the Challenger private jets, who unanimously reject (99.6%) the offer of the aircraft manufacturer in addition to opening the door to a work stoppage if nothing moves.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

Gathered at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal on Sunday, the workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) gave themselves a strike mandate. This proposal was supported by 98.8%.

“The workers, they tell us a lot about the increase in the cost of living, says business agent Éric Rancourt, in an interview. We are far from what the members want and what the employer is ready to offer. »

Bombardier is offering a three-year contract with a 2.5% wage increase for the first year and 2% increases for the following two years. Inflation was 6.7% in March in Canada – a high since 1991.

Mr. Rancourt affirms that the normative side of the proposal is adequate, in particular everything that affects pension plans, insurance, as well as vacations. It is on the salary issue that we do not agree. He did not want to say what he wanted in terms of salary increases for his members.

Before triggering a possible strike, the IAMAW will again have to get its members to vote. The aircraft manufacturer had not commented on the result of the vote immediately.

This rejection of the employer’s offers comes as the five main executives of Bombardier saw their total compensation amount to around 21 million last year. They shared cash bonuses of 7.2 million.

months of negotiations

The agreement for 1,800 employees expired last December. Negotiations had started a few months earlier. The workers involved assemble the Challengers in Dorval and also work at the company’s facilities in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, where parts such as the Global 7500 cockpit are manufactured.

The palpable tension between the two parties on March 23 The IAMAW launched hostilities by distributing a bulletin to its members accusing the company of rejecting “virtually all” of their wage demands, in addition to demanding “ significant setbacks” of “several million”.

Called to react on the sidelines of a public address, the president and chief executive of Bombardier, Éric Martel, had considered that the exit was premature and described the union allegations as “rumor”.

This is a second complex negotiation between the company and its employees. Last July, the 1,200 workers at the Toronto Donwsview factory represented by Unifor went on strike for a few days. Production of the Global 7500 – Bombardier’s flagship – had been temporarily halted.