Air Canada staff to go on strike Monday midnight

The recommendation by Canada’s largest carrier is to get checked in early and the earlier the better and people should do this online. Be prepared to wait and if at all possible, avoid travelling with checked baggage. While the company says it has a contingency plan, there is the question of how it will cope when 4,000 call centre and customer service agents at nine airports in Canada walk off the job. According to a letter on Air Canada’s web site, the company indicates that they have non-unionized staff trained and available to ensure a continued operation.

It is interesting to note that pensions are a stumbling block in these negotiations. According to reports, the company is looking to switch employees from a defined benefit plan to a defined contribution. This is the same problem which cropped up between Canada Post and CUPW.

For those readers not familiar with the difference, Wikipedia has a series of articles: pension, defined benefit pension plan, defined contribution pension plan. The main difference lies in what the individual eventually gets out of the plan. A defined benefit sets out through a formula what you get; it is up to the plan to fund your pension through investment of the pension monies and by contributions from employees still working. A defined contribution means you yourself pay into your own fund and what you get comes from your own monies.

The teachers’ pension has always been a defined benefit pension but ran into difficulties a few years ago when the fund, even though it has over a hundred billion dollars, was not enough to support all the people who were retired or going to retire. As a consequence, they had to increase the contributions of all working teachers. It is this sort of problem all companies are trying to avoid and today, most pensions are a defined contribution pension.

The CAW in making its case, says in this online pamphlet, "We don’t want to go on strike." They go on to point out that the current CEO Calin Rovinescu, while preaching cost-cutting and restraint, took home $4.55 million last year – up 76% from the previous year.

As of this writing, the union has given strike notice set for 11:59pm Monday evening. However, negotiations are continuing so whether or not a strike goes ahead will not be known until later in the day, Monday. If you are flying, be prepared for line-ups.

Air Canada’s own web site has published the following Travel Update:

We have been advised by the CAW – the union representing Air Canada’s call centre and airport customer service agents in Canada – that it intends to proceed with strike action as early as 12:01 a.m. EDT, June 14, 2011, in the event an agreement is not reached.

Please keep in mind, however, that if call centre and airport customer service agents walk off the job, we will continue to operate our full flight schedule.

The following steps will help you avoid long wait times at the call center and queues at airport check-in kiosks, and expedite airport processes:

1. Check in online or on your mobile device at any time within 24 hours of your flight’s departure.

2. If at all possible, avoid travelling with checked baggage.

Air Canada has also published "A message to our customers":

Dear Valued Customer,

Air Canada has been advised by the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW), representing Air Canada’s call centre and airport customer service agents in Canada, that the union intends to proceed with strike action in the event an agreement is not reached. Strike action could start as early as 12:01 a.m. EDT, June 14.

It is important to know that we remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement with the union leadership before the deadline, to avert a strike. In the event that an agreement is not reached, we plan to maintain a full schedule and implement a contingency service plan at call centres and airports to minimize the impact on you.

As a result of this announcement, we encourage all customers booked for travel over the coming days to visit aircanada.com prior to travel to familiarize themselves with the special information about our services as well as the self-serve check-in and booking tools we have available.

Prior to arriving at the airport, please make use of our self-service tools, available online at aircanada.com or on your mobile device, to check-in, within 24 hours before flight departure time.

Should a strike occur, we have non-unionized staff trained and available to ensure a continued operation. They will be on-hand at airports to assist you with things such as using our self-serve check-in and baggage-tagging kiosks.

Kiosks are available at the nine Canadian airports that will be affected in the event of a labour disruption (St. John’s, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver). We do anticipate that lines at kiosks will be longer than usual, so checking in online and arriving early are recommended. In order to expedite airport processes we encourage you to avoid checking baggage if at all possible.

Given our airport personnel will be limited, our priority will be to attend to customers with special needs. However, answers to frequently asked questions, special travel tips and the latest news regarding the potential labour disruptions can be found at aircanada.com.

We certainly recognize that this potential disruption is a cause for concern to our customers. We remain focused, however, on reaching a settlement and, in any event, to minimizing any inconvenience to your travel plans.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

Susan Welscheid

Senior Vice President, Customer Service

Air Canada has also published "Frequently Asked Questions" which covers the following topics:

* Who could go on strike Tuesday June 14 at 12:01 am EDT?

* I have a reservation for travel in the coming days. What should I do?

* What cities would be affected?

* Where can I find information on Air Canada’s schedule and services if there is a strike?

* In the event of a strike, what should I do if my flight departs from an affected airport?

* Would a strike have an effect on Aeroplan, Air Canada Vacations or Air Canada Cargo?

* I have travel booked for the summer. Will I be able to go?

* How many flights would be impacted?

* Could my access to the airport be blocked by industrial action on the part of striking check-in and gate agents?

* Why is the pension issue so important?

CAW Issues Strike Notice to Air Canada for Monday Night – June 10, 2011

The CAW has issued its 72-hour strike notice to Air Canada, setting the stage for a possible work stoppage commencing Monday night at 11:59 p.m., should the two sides not come to an agreement.

After 10 weeks of negotiations, there are still a number of important issues halting progress at the bargaining table, such as demands for dramatic cuts to the pension plan that could result in pensions being reduced by 40 per cent for existing members, a plan which members pay into. The company is also demanding a lesser, secondary pension plan for new hires, according to the CAW.

Air Canada is also demanding a number of other economic concessions, including a reduction in benefits for current members and retirees, as well as an increase to their part-time workforce, which already occupies approximately 35 per cent of jobs.

"We are determined to reach a fair and equitable collective agreement that will reflect the contributions our members have made to bring Air Canada back to prosperity – our members haven’t forgotten how much they gave up to make that happen and they expect to be treated fairly," said CAW Local 2002 President Jamie Ross, representing the company’s 3,800 customer service, reservations and ticketing agents. "This is a struggle for good jobs at Air Canada and good jobs elsewhere."

CAW makes its case

According to this online pamphlet, "We don’t want to go on strike."

Current CEO Calin Rovinescu, while preaching cost-cutting and restraint, took home $4.55 million last year – up 76% from the previous year.

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