Air Canada mechanics, baggage rally at Pearson
Posted February 24, 2012 8:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Air Canada baggage handlers, mechanics and other workers rallied at Pearson International Airport Friday after they rejected the airline’s latest offer in contract negotiations.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents 8,600 Air Canada workers and said 66 per cent of its members rejected the airline’s four-year offer, which reportedly included wage increases, better benefits and a beefed-up pension plan, on Wednesday night.
The union also approved a strike mandate.
“Today our members across the board are earning less in real terms than they did after the CCAA hearings in 2002. In real dollars, the members have been falling behind each year for over a decade,” the union said in a statement Thursday.
“During this time the people that are in charge of running, the company is walking away with millions of dollars in their pockets and that’s not fair!”
The workers started their rally at the Air Canada hangars around 9 a.m. Friday.
A government-appointed conciliator helped the two sides hammer out the tentative deal after nine months of bargaining. A report must now go to the Labour Ministry while the union says it’s prepared to return to bargaining.
Air Canada’s negotiations with its pilots’ union continue with the help of a conciliator. The pilots have also voted in favour of a strike mandate. The airline is in a legal lockout position.
