Renewal of a collective agreement | The threat of a strike intensifies at Bombardier

The threat of a labor dispute between Bombardier and 1,800 of its Quebec workers is intensifying: they are called upon to vote on a strike vote as early as next week since negotiations to renew their contract of employment are not progressing sufficiently to the taste of their union.

Julien Arsenault
The Press

While the president and CEO of the aircraft manufacturer Éric Martel has shown optimism over the past few days, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) sees things from a other eye.

“The employer has instead chosen to submit a global offer to us, which we refuse to present to you since the increase in salaries, the outsourcing and the indexation to retirees’ pensions are still in dispute”, it is explained, in a newsletter distributed to members on Friday that The Press was able to consult.

It is on May 17 that the 1,800 or so employees of the Dorval and Saint-Laurent factories, who notably assemble the Challenger business jets in addition to manufacturing parts such as the cockpit of the Global 7500, will decide. A walkout would not be automatic, specifies the IAMAW to its members.

Essentially, the union wants to obtain “the power to use pressure tactics when deemed appropriate”. The union party claims to have submitted a counter-proposal to Bombardier with a deadline set for May 23.

“Bombardier continues to negotiate in good faith to achieve a new collective agreement,” company spokesman Mark Masluch said in a statement.

The IAMAW and the aircraft manufacturer did not want to add more details. The collective agreement expired last December.

According to the union party, Bombardier initially offered a three-year employment contract which was accompanied by wage increases of 2.5% for the first year, then 2.25% for the last two.

This offer was overwhelmingly rejected by employees on April 24. The IAMAW had recommended the rejection of the proposal, considering that it did not make it possible to compensate for the increase in the cost of living. Inflation was 6.7% in March in Canada – a high since 1991.

“The challenge of a collective agreement is to predict what inflation will be in the second and third year,” said Mr. Martel on May 5, on the sidelines of the presentation of the results of the first quarter, about the negotiations.

During a conference call, he said he was “very confident” to get along with his employees. Bombardier’s top five executives saw their compensation set at $21 million last year. They shared cash bonuses of 7.2 million.