FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Machinists Union secures 6000 jobs in air transport restructuring
WINNIPEG – Dave Ritchie, Canadian Vice President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and Ron Fontaine, President of the IAM’ Air Transport District today announced a major breakthrough in its campaign to secure worker protection in the ongoing air transport restructuring process.
The union has secured an agreement with Air Canada that, if it successful in its bid to purchase Canadian Airlines that:
- there will be no involuntary layoffs at either airline
- there will be no involuntary base relocation for any employee of either airline
- no employees at Canadian Airlines or Canadian Regional will be involuntarily relocated to the proposed new low fare airline which Air Canada will operate from Hamilton, Ontario.
- all surplus IAM members identified in the restructuring process at Canadian Airlines and Canadian Regional will have their interim economic security ensured through attrition, voluntary severance options, leave of absence programs, voluntary transfers and other mitigation programs that may be agreed to by Air Canada and the IAM.
- wage rates at Canadian will be brought back to pre-1996 wage rates when Canadian employees were forced to take wage cuts to help save the carrier, effective January 1, 2001
- effective January 1, 2001, employees at Canadian and Canadian Regional will get an increase to cover 50% of the wage differential between Canadian Airlines and Canadian Regional and Air Canada and Air Canada Regional
- effective January 1, 2002 wages for employees at Canadian Airlines and Canadian Regional will increase to equivalent wage rates for employees at Air Canada and Air Canada Regional
IAM leaders have been meeting with officials of Air Canada for the past week in an effort to protect the jobs of up to 6,000 people whose employment is threatened at Canadian Airlines and Canadian Airlines Regional under the restructuring process which was initiated by the Federal government in August.
The IAM is Canada’s largest air transport union, representing more than 18,500 workers – 9,000 at Air Canada and Air Canada regionals, 6,000 at Canadian and Canadian Regional, and 3,500 at a number of airline service companies and charter airlines.
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CONTACT: Neville Hamilton,
Cell: (613) 720-4493,
Ottawa Office: (613) 731-66316,
Toronto hotel as of Thursday morning (416) 361-1000
