Transat Pilots Request Conciliation

Air Transat pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, (ALPA), have formally requested that Canada’s Minister of Labour intervene in labour negotiations, saying the company’s proposal would keep Air Transat’s pilots below the industry standard during the term of the proposed agreement.

The conciliation request is supported by the members.

Capt. Patrice Roy, chairman of Air Transat’s ALPA Master Executive Council, commented: “It is with our help that Air Transat has remained profitable through the tough times the company faced. It’s time for management to now invest in pilots the same way they’ve invested in other Air Transat employees and executives. This can easily be accomplished by bringing us to parity within the industry and at levels comparable to our direct competitors.”

The current collective agreement expired on April 30, 2015, and since then, ALPA and Air Transat have been in negotiations for nearly 10 months.

According to ALPA, during this time, the parties have proven to be very far apart on many of the demands.

Before any strike could occur, the Minister of Labour has 15 days to appoint a conciliation officer and then a 60-day conciliation period will begin. If both parties are still in dispute, the conciliation period is followed by a 21-day cooling-off period.

At that point, the Minister of Labour can take further action to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. However, once the cooling-off period begins, the parties will gain their respective rights to strike or lockout.

Pilots at Air Transat joined ALPA in 1999. The group’s 520 members operate the fleet’s A310-300s and A330-200s and -300s, plus B-737-700s and -800s from bases in Montreal, P.Q.; Toronto, Ont.; and Vancouver, B.C.

For more, go to http://www.alpa.org .