OTTAWA, Ontario — OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s largest airline and enterprise leaders on Thursday urged the federal authorities to intervene in labor talks with its pilots in hopes of avoiding a shutdown, however the labor minister stated the 2 sides ought to negotiate a deal.
Air Canada spokesman Christophe Hennebelle stated that the airline is dedicated to negotiations, however it faces wage calls for from the Air Line Pilots Affiliation it may’t meet.
“The difficulty is that we’re confronted with unreasonable wage calls for that ALPA refuses to reasonable,” he stated.
The union representing 5,200 pilots says Air Canada continues to publish file income whereas anticipating pilots to just accept below-market compensation.
The airline and its pilots have been in contract talks for greater than a yr. The pilots wish to be paid wages aggressive with their U.S. counterparts.
The 2 sides might be able beginning Sunday to situation a 72-hour discover of a strike or lockout. The airline has stated the discover would set off its three-day wind down plan and begin the clock on a full work stoppage as early as Sept. 18.
Hennebelle stated the airline isn’t asking for fast intervention from the federal government, however that it ought to be ready to assist keep away from main disruptions from a shutdown of an airline that carries greater than 110,000 passengers a day.
“The federal government ought to be able to step in and be sure that we aren’t coming into into that disruption for the good thing about Canadians,” he stated.
Quite a few enterprise teams convened in Ottawa on Thursday to name for motion — together with binding arbitration — to keep away from the financial disruptions a shutdown of the airline would trigger.
Arbitration “will help deliver the events to a profitable decision and keep away from all of the potential impacts we’re right here to speak about immediately,” Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, instructed a information convention.
Goldy Hyder, chief govt of the Enterprise Council of Canada, stated in a press release Canada can’t afford one other main disruption to its transportation community.
“A labor disruption at Air Canada would ripple via our economic system,” Hyder stated in a press release.
Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon instructed a information convention Wednesday evening the 2 sides ought to attain a deal.
“There’s no purpose for these events not to have the ability to obtain a collective settlement,” he stated.
“These events ought to be below no ambiguity as to what my message is to them immediately. Knuckle down, get a deal.”
In August, the Canadian authorities requested the nation’s industrial relations board to situation a back-to-work order to finish a railway shutdown.
“There are important variations between these two conditions and go away it at that,” MacKinnon stated.
NDP Chief Jagmeet Singh stated Thursday his social gathering wouldn’t help efforts to pressure pilots again to work.
“If there’s any payments being proposed on again to work laws, we’re going to oppose that,” he stated.