Air Canada, Unifor Reach Tentative Contract Agreement

Air Canada and Unifor have reached a tentative agreement on a new, 5-year contract. Unifor is the union that represents the carrier’s approximately 4,000 Customer Service and Sales Agents.

Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, said: “Along with agreements concluded with other employee groups over the past eight months, this tentative agreement with Unifor, subject to ratification, provides Air Canada with added stability and flexibility to support profitable growth. Importantly, it is a “win-win” agreement which acknowledges the contribution of our customer service and sales agents to Air Canada’s success.”

Jerry Dias, national president of Unifor, stated: “We’re very pleased to have achieved important gains for our Air Canada members. We listened closely to what our members wanted in this contract and delivered results.”

The agreement is subject to ratification by the union membership. Details of the agreement will not be released pending ratification and approval by the Air Canada Board of Directors.

The union will recommend ratification to its members and the Company will seek the Air Canada Board of Director’s approval for the agreement.

This tentative agreement with Unifor follows on the conclusion in October 2014 of a new agreement with Air Canada’s pilots on collective agreement terms for ten years. It is the fourth tentative collective agreement reached by Air Canada and its unions, including those with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) representing its U.S. unionized workforce and UNITE representing its U.K unionized workforce.