Air Canada negotiations go down to the wire

However, at this stage of the game, it would seem the strike is a go. Predictions are already brewing about how long it will take for something happens, like back to work legislation, but that depends on the public’s and the government stomach for putting up with travel disruptions. Air Canada has said it’s going to be business as usual but 4,000 from your work force can’t disappear and you still manage to continue “business as usual”. Something is going to give.

To repeat yesterday’s article as saying 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.

See yesterday’s article for further information on pensions, the positions of the two sides, and what you need to go to ease the burden of travelling.

Air Canada workers to strike on Monday at midnight – Jun 12/2011

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