Air Transat flight attendants are ready to strike as quickly as Jan. 3 after an awesome majority voted to present their union a mandate to stroll off the job if a brand new labour deal cannot be reached.
A unit of The Canadian Union of Public Workers, which represents greater than 2,100 Air Transat staff, says 99.8 per cent of them voted to go on strike if vital if their union cannot hammer out a brand new collective bargaining settlement with the Montreal-based airline.
Air Transat’s present labour deal expired in October 2022 and the union has been attempting to barter a brand new pact with the airline since April. Greater than 33 completely different points are on the desk however compensation is a serious one.
“The vote displays the flight attendants’ exceptionally excessive degree of dissatisfaction with their working circumstances, significantly with wages and buying energy,” the union mentioned in a launch. “Following a dip through the COVID-19 pandemic, the general outlook for the trade is as soon as once more extraordinarily constructive.”
Dominic Levasseur, president of the Air Transat Part of CUPE, says there’s nonetheless loads of time to get a deal finished with out disruption to passengers, however within the occasion of a strike, all the airline’s flights can be cancelled beginning on the tail finish of the essential vacation flying season.
“Confronted with the dizzying rise in the price of dwelling and the trade’s beneficial prospects, they’re able to take motion,” Levasseur mentioned. “Greater than 50 per cent of them have been compelled to tackle a second or perhaps a third job to make ends meet, and their beginning wage is barely $26,577 per yr.”
Andréan Gagné, a spokesperson for the Montreal-based airline, mentioned {that a} strike mandate for a union is a traditional a part of negotiations and mentioned the airline is “assured we’ll discover an settlement.”
“The tone on the bargaining desk stays cordial and respectful, and discussions are progressing effectively on each events’ respective calls for,” Gagné informed CBC Information in a press release. “Transat maintains wonderful working relations with its workers and CUPE, and intends to make each effort to seek out an settlement that can fulfill each events.”
If a labour disruption does occur, will probably be one in every of many to bubble up in Canada’s aviation sector lately.
WestJet and its main union confronted a strike final Could earlier than the 2 sides hammered out a deal to avert main disruptions on the eleventh hour of negotiations. And Air Canada is within the midst of its personal labour talks proper now with its pilots’ union after the latter group pulled out of its present deal sooner than deliberate.
