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MONTREAL – The head of Air Canada’s pilots union says it will step down if members choose not to approve a tentative contract with the airline, raising the stakes as fliers consider whether to accept big pay gains or drive an even harder deal.

Charlene Hudy, who chairs the Air Canada contingent of the Airline Pilots Association, told her colleagues in a virtual town hall Friday that she “will have no choice but to resign” if they vote down the potential contract.

“If the membership votes no to this (tentative agreement), it would clearly show the public, the media, the government and the company that I no longer speak for you,” he said in a session a question and answer that followed the online. a gathering. The Canadian Press has obtained a copy of her statement and confirmed it with two pilots.

“If I stayed, it would be to your detriment,” said Hudy.

The agreement, reached last weekend after more than a year of negotiations, averted a strike that would have seen around 670 flights canceled and 110,000 passengers affected each day.

The agreement would allow a cumulative pay rise of almost 42 percent over four years for the carrier’s 5,400 pilots. The increase is bigger than last year’s big wins for pilots at the three biggest US airlines, where pay bumps ranged between 34 and 40 per cent – despite starting from a baseline higher.

Despite the big front-line figure, the deal has faced scrutiny from some pilots, particularly more recent recruits who are unimpressed by the persistent pay gap between newer hires and their more experienced colleagues.

Resignation warnings from union officials aimed at driving back the merits of a tentative deal are not unheard of, said Michael Bjorge, who teaches history at Dalhousie University with a specialization in industrial relations.

“Often in bargaining, especially when people have been at the table for a significant period of time, they say, ‘this is the best we can get’ and they often believe that honest,” said Bjorge.

“In reality, of course, you never know what you can get until you push to the limit.”

Under their current contract, pilots earn significantly less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big pay rise starting in year five.

Some workers had been pushing to get rid of the so-called “fixed rate” provision in full, where earnings remain flat regardless of the type of plane flown. (Typically, wages increase with the size of the plane.) But the proposed agreement announced on September 15 would only cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years, according to a copy of the contract and obtained from The Canadian Press.

Even in years three and four, wages would be significantly lower than in year five. The hourly rate jumps almost 40 percent in the fifth year, which is a much bigger step than in any other period, according to the agreement.

Assuming pilots work about 75 hours a month – a common industry baseline – newer recruits would earn between $75,700 and $134,000 versus nearly $187,000 in year five, and more than $367,000 for an experienced captain flying a Boeing 777 .

Experts say well over a third of the carrier’s roughly 5,200 active pilots could earn entry-level salaries following a recent hiring surge. Many join after long careers in other airlines, rather than straight out of flying school.

Provisions regarding scheduling and quality of life will also take into account considerations of pilot schemes before a confirmation vote, which is due to take place in the coming weeks.

“By the time they start working for the first time, this is often the time they have children. So if mom or dad is going to be gone for significant periods of time, that’s really hard on families,” Bjorge said.

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 22, 2024.

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