Air Transat pilots open strike vote, picket in Montreal & Toronto

EDITOR'S NOTE: Air Transat reached a tentative agreement with the ALPA on Tuesday night (Dec. 9), averting a strike. Click here for details.

Hundreds of Air Transat pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), conducted informational picketing Monday (Nov. 17) in three locations – the same day that the pilots began voting on a strike ballot.

Well over 450 Air Transat pilots, joined by pilots from Air Canada, WestJet, Jazz, Porter, and a dozen U.S. airlines, attended the informational pickets at Pierre Trudeau airport in Montreal, Toronto Pearson in Toronto, and Air Transat’s corporate headquarters in Montreal.

“Today the Air Transat pilots showed their unity and resolve, supported by their fellow union pilots from across North America,” said Capt. Bradley Small, chair of the Air Transat ALPA Master Executive Council, in a press release. “At the same time, they now have the opportunity to vote on whether to go on strike if negotiations fail to produce a modern contract by December 10.”

The Air Transat pilots opened contract negotiations with the airline in January of this year. The parties then entered conciliation on Sept. 19, which is expected to continue until Nov. 18.

If an agreement is not reached by then, a 21-day cooling-off period will begin the next day, Nov. 19.

The cooling-off period would end on Dec. 10, after which time the union can declare a strike or management can impose a lockout.

The strike ballot for Air Transat’s more than 700 pilots opened Monday and runs until Dec. 2.

If approved, it would give union leadership the authority to declare a strike when legally authorized to do so, according to a press release.

The pilots’ say their goals are “to achieve industry-standard pay, working conditions, and quality of life.”

Still: “The two sides remain far apart on most key issues, with management bargaining slowly, as the deadline for a possible strike draws near,” said the ALPA.

“We showed today that we are fully prepared to walk out if that’s what it takes to improve our outdated, decade-old contract.” Small stated. “We demand a modern contract, and we hope that management recognizes our resolve and comes back to the table ready to bargain in earnest.”

Air Transat responds

In a statement to PAX, Air Transat said it has made "significant progress" in the talks and remains "fully committed at the table." 

"From the outset, we agreed with the union to undertake a complete overhaul of the collective agreement, and both parties were aware of the timeline required to ensure rigorous work," the company said in a statement. "With that in mind, we began negotiations last January—three months before the collective agreement expired. The schedule remains reasonable for work of this magnitude." 

The airline says the industry average for a regular collective agreement update is "about 18 months." 

"We remain confident in reaching a negotiated agreement at the table, that reflects market and company realities," said Air Transat. "Despite the end of the conciliation period, we are continuing discussions with the designated conciliators. Several negotiation dates have already been scheduled through the end of the month." 

It added that informational pickets are "a part of the negotiation process, and we respect our pilots’ right to express themselves." 

The demonstrations had no impact on Air Transat's flight schedule or operations.

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