Flight attendants ratify 10-year deal with Air Canada

Vote passes by narrow margin as nearly half of employees opt to reject the agreement

After years of labour unrest, Air Canada has reached an unusual agreement with its flight attendants ensuring no lockout or strike for a decade, but the deal was ratified by only the narrowest of margins.

The 6,500 flight attendants at Air Canada and 700 at Air Canada Rouge, the firm’s leisure carrier, are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The union refused to disclose the results of the vote — but a bulletin, obtained by the Star, shows 50.4 per cent voted yes, compared with 49.6 per cent who voted to reject, with three-quarters of eligible members voting.

The agreement comes on the heels of a 10-year deal reached last year with Air Canada’s pilots and a fiveyear deal reached earlier this year by customer-service staff, represented by Unifor.

The baggage handlers and machinists, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, are in preliminary talks, given their contract expires next March.

Both Air Canada and CUPE officials declined to comment, referring all questions to news releases.

“With annual wage increases, unprecedented job security along with numerous important improvements to working conditions, Air Canada flight attendants, at both mainline and Rouge, secured a better future,” said Michel Cournoyer, president of CUPE’s Air Canada component.

“This landmark agreement follows the milestone 10-year agreement reached with our pilots last October and is the fifth collective agreement reached with unions representing our employees over the past year,” said Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu.

“It is yet a further indication of the collaborative partnership that is building Air Canada into a global champion,” Rovinescu said.

However, George Smith, an adjunct professor at Queen’s University’s School of Industrial Relations, called the narrow ratification a concern.

“It means half of the membership doesn’t like it,” he said. “It’s not good for either the company or the union. You don’t want that close a vote.”

He warned the airline could be hit by issues such as increased grievances from the union, given there’s a faction that believes it’s not a good deal and could take every opportunity to point it out.

Air Canada has also recently reached agreements with its pilots and customer-service staff

Smith conceded that the company will still be pleased the deal was ratified because it brings certainty for customers as well as investors.

Given that other airlines such as Lufthansa have been hit by repeated service disruptions due to labour issues, Air Canada can say with certainty that there will be no strike or lockout of flight attendants.

It also helps the airline to make long-term financial commitments, such as acquiring new planes and planning new routes.

Smith said he understands why management would like to lock into a long-term deal, but he questioned the length. “Who knows what the economy will be like four years from now, or even next year?”

The airline industry can be dramatically impacted by outside forces including fuel prices, a global economic slowdown or even acts of terrorism such as after Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.