NO DEAL YET Transat and pilots both hope to avoid a strike

Posted on 02/22/2016

Air Transat pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), announced last Friday that they still have not reached any agreement with Air Transat A. T. on a new contract.  Contacted by Travel Industry Today last week, Transat said it was confident of a settlement.

However, union leaders and the airline have yet to come to terms after more than a year of direct negotiations and federal conciliation."After reviewing the latest global proposal presented by the company, our local union leadership and negotiators have unanimously refused sending it out to our membership for ratification," said Capt. Patrice Roy, chairman of ALPA's Air Transat Master Executive Council. "Contrary to what we'd expected, this proposal does not reflect the company's purported interest in bringing pilot wages into line with our peers."Although no agreement has been reached, the union thanked the Ministry of Labour for its assistance. The Ministry coordinated a federally mandated conciliation period followed by a mediation after distance between the parties on many of the demands led the pilots to seek intervention. On February 1, 97 percent of the pilots voted in support of a strike if the two parties proved to be unable to reach a fair and equitable contract.The conciliation period ended on Sunday, February 7, but was extended when the mediator summoned the parties for a meeting from February 15 to 18.   After a week in mediation, substantial issues remain open, particularly in the areas of working conditions and compensation, according to Capt. Roy. The current collective agreement expired on April 30, 2015, though the pilots have continued to work since then.Roy says the pilots are still open to negotiating and hope to avoid a strike. However, a mandated 21-day "cooling-off" period will end at 12:01 a.m. on February 29, at which point both parties will gain the right to strike or lockout.