Machinists Union reaches agreement with Air Canada on pension plan funding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
19 February, 2004

Toronto – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) and Air Canada have reached an agreement on funding the deficit in the company’s employee Pension plans.

“This is great news,” said Dave Ritchie, General Vice-President of the IAMAW. “We’ve worked long and hard with Air Canada, and we now feel we can take something to the federal government.”

As part of negotiations last summer, which kept the pension plans intact, the IAM and other Air Canada unions agreed to support Air Canada in seeking relief from the strict funding provisions of the federal pension law. This agreement clarifies the relief to be provided.

“The IAM, along with Air Canada, will take the agreement to the government and recommend acceptance,” said Ritchie. “It is in the best interest of our members that we do this,” he concluded.

All other unions representing workers at Air Canada have agreed to this accord, as well as representatives of retirees from those unions and non-unionized retirees.

Although no details of the agreement can be released before submission to the government, the IAM wants its members to be assured that:

There will be no changes to the pension plan
The collective agreement between Air Canada and its unions will remain intact

“This agreement does not change Air Canada’s pension plans. The full maintenance of Air Canada’s pension plans was a central element of the agreement signed last summer and we are not prepared to discuss changes to those plans, said Ritchie.

With a total of 700,000 members, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) is present in all sectors of activity. Our members manufacture aircraft, aircraft engines, electric and industrial turbines, refrigerators, stoves and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, among others.