TORONTO – IAM negotiators reached a tentative agreement with Air Canada Tuesday night, making the union’s contribution to keep the financially troubled carrier flying.

At a sombre late evening news conference Canadian General Vice President Dave Ritchie said, “Is this a happy day? The answer is absolutely not! Hard choices have had to be made to ensure the survival of the airline and preserve the livelihoods of our members, their families and the communities in which they live.”

Ritchie blasted the federal Liberal government for its disgraceful performance in neglecting the crisis facing the airline. “Shame on you! Our members are prepared to make sacrifices but you have done absolutely nothing to protect jobs in this industry. It’s time for this government to stop politicking and start leading,” he said. He cited the example of the US government, which has made substantial cash contributions to airlines facing similar problems in the United States.

Ritchie went on to say that the good news was that the IAM members pension plans had been preserved.

“Our union recognised this as the major issue we couldn’t yield on, and to their credit, so did the other unions at Air Canada. We worked together to make sure pensions were protected. On that issue our members including our retirees can rest easy tonight,” he concluded.

Key elements of the 6-year agreement are:

• previously negotiated 2.5% wage increase for 2003 and 2004 will be foregone;
• 1.5% reduction on wages only, to be reopened after three years. Wage negotiations on the re-opened contract will be subject to binding arbitration;
• all overtime premiums to be paid at a rate of 1.5;
• no paid lunch;
• removal of all shift premiums;
• reduction of sick days from 12 to six;
• the layoff of 1,399 employees.

Ritchie stressed that this was a difficult day for the IAM. “We’ve built this contract for more than 60 years. This is not a triumph for us. We did things we never thought we’d do. But tough times call for tough measures. The union and the company worked through some major obstacles to let Air Canada function. We did what we had to do.”

The Canadian Vice President thanked the entire IAM negotiating team “for sticking with a tough process to attain some very painful goals.”

The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by IAM members. The process should be completed by June 30, 2003, Judge Farley’s target date.

Contact: Dave Ritchie, General Vice-President, IAMAW Canada
Source: Frank Saptel, Communications Representative
Cell: (416) 579-1481

Press Releases 2003