In a significant development, Air Canada and the union representing more than 5,200 pilots have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year contract, successfully avoiding a potential strike that was looming just days away. The announcement, made Saturday night, marks the end of weeks of intense negotiations.
The deal, however, is still subject to approval by the members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Air Canada’s board of directors. The details of the contract will remain confidential until a ratification vote, which is expected to take place within the next month. A majority of the voting members must approve the agreement for it to be finalized.
According to ALPA, the contract will bring an additional $1.9 billion in value to the pilots over its duration. Canadian media reports have indicated that pilots will receive a 42% pay raise, with a large portion of the increase retroactive to September 2023.
Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada Master Executive Council and a first officer at Air Canada, expressed her satisfaction with the agreement, stating, “After several consecutive weeks of intense round-the-clock negotiations, progress was made on several key issues including compensation, retirement, and work rules. If ratified by the pilot group, this agreement would officially put an end to our outdated and stale decade-old, ten-year framework.”
The negotiations took on added urgency as a moratorium preventing either side from implementing pressure tactics was set to expire on Sunday. Without a deal in place, pilots would have been free to issue a three-day notice for a potential strike, disrupting operations nationwide.
Business groups and Air Canada had urged the Canadian government to step in and impose binding arbitration if no agreement was reached. Industry groups expressed concern that a work stoppage would have severely impacted critical supply chains, including agricultural, manufacturing, and medical industries that rely on Air Canada’s cargo services for time-sensitive deliveries.
As a precaution, Air Canada Cargo had already begun limiting its acceptance of certain specialized cargo shipments to avoid stranding goods in the event of a strike.
One of the central points of contention during negotiations was the pilots’ push for wages on par with their U.S. counterparts. Air Canada had previously offered a 30% wage increase, but the final agreement appears to have provided even more significant compensation for pilots.
The tentative agreement now awaits the next steps, with both pilots and the company looking to move forward and maintain smooth operations across Canada.
