(Ottawa) The federal government should not impose binding arbitration or special legislation “now,” as Air Canada is demanding, in the event of a labour dispute with its pilots, which could happen any time soon, believes Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
“To impose an end to the negotiation now would be ridiculous and we would not tolerate that,” he declared on Wednesday during a press scrum in Ottawa.
Mr. Poilievre said he understands why Air Canada pilots are “frustrated” and called on the airline to negotiate to find common ground.
“It’s ridiculous that our pilots are paid much less than Americans. Pilots in the United States, they are paid much more. Plus they pay much less taxes,” he said.
On Monday, Air Canada announced that it was finalizing the “final details” of its plan to reduce its activities that it will implement if negotiations with its pilots do not lead to a conclusion by the end of the week and a work stoppage is triggered.
Starting Sunday, the employer and the union will have the opportunity to file a 72-hour notice of strike or lockout, which would result in a work stoppage starting mid-next week.
In a letter to federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and nearly a hundred business organizations expressed their “deep concern” about the impact that such a labour dispute would have “on Canadians, the country’s economy, supply chains and, most importantly, on our global reputation.”
“The federal government must act decisively to avoid a work stoppage at Air Canada,” they say.
More specifically, they call on Ottawa to “act upstream” in the absence of a negotiated agreement and “submit the dispute to binding arbitration where a neutral arbitrator can resolve all issues in dispute.”
Air Canada’s 5,400 pilots have given themselves a strike mandate that has been supported by 98% of union members.
Negotiations over the renewal of the collective agreement have been ongoing since June 2023. The pilots are demanding better wages, better pension benefits and improvements to their quality of life. Their employer has called their demands excessive.
According to a source close to the negotiations, Air Canada is proposing a 30% wage increase over four years, as well as improvements to benefits. The source has learned that the pilots are asking for wage increases of between 30 and 60%.