Air Canada, union head to key talks as strike looms: ‘Completely stalled’

Air Canada and the union representing its pilots, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), are meeting this week in efforts to avoid a strike after the union said talks had “completely stalled” last week.

The stakes are high after the NDP pulled their support for the Liberals, raising questions about what will happen if there is a strike that results in calls for back-to-work legislation and whether any potential attempts to force workers back could result in opposition parties attempting non-confidence motions.

As the outcome of talks happening this week remains uncertain, the pilots’ union says negotiations had stalled as of last week.

Hudy added, “What we can say is that as of last week, talks had completely stalled. We are meeting with the company this week and hope to see more movement on the items that remain.”

Hudy did not share any further details of offers from Air Canada but said percentage increases in wages would depend on the seniority of the pilot. She said this would mean that junior pilots would likely see the highest increase in the event of a deal being reached.

“They live in the biggest cities across Canada and currently make a salary that makes it very hard to sustain a family,” Hudy said.

“One quarter of our pilots have a second job, with almost 80 per cent of those needing the job out of necessity. We are trying to change that. Additionally, due to our latest 10-year contract, our compensation has not kept up with inflation, nor the levels of our peer carriers.”

Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment from Global News.

However, the airline had a statement on its website that read, “Air Canada is in negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Currently, our operations are not