Air Canada warns against 'sickout' by pilots
As labour relations at Air Canada continue to worsen, the airline has warned its pilots against any illegal job action amid talk of a possible "sickout" Friday.
Capt. Eddy Doyle, Air Canada's director of flying operations, has raised concerns that pilots will be booking off sick Friday when in fact they are fit to fly, according to an internal newsletter from Jean-Marc Belanger of the Air Canada Pilots Association, which represents 3,000 pilots.
Belanger said in the newsletter, sent Thursday, that there was no way to verify these allegations.
However, if they are accurate, "they have not been initiated or sanctioned by ACPA," he said.
He went on to emphasize that the federal government's back-to-work legislation prevents any strike or lockout as the contract dispute is to be settled through arbitration. The union has launched a constitutional challenge against the legislation.
Ottawa's intervention in contract talks at Air Canada, which has blocked scheduled strikes and a lockout of pilots, has angered employees. Baggage handlers and other machinists staged a wildcat strike at Pearson international airport on March 23 that created chaos.
Pilots are also furious with Air Canada management who have accused two top union officials - Belanger, who is chair of the master executive council, and president Paul Strachan - of making reckless comments about safety after Aveos Fleet Performance, which did maintenance work for Air Canada, ceased operations last month.
Both men say they have been threatened with possible dismissal from Air Canada.
In a newsletter sent Tuesday, Belanger writes to pilots that "your response to these threats will influence my ability to continue serving you with any kind of credibility." He goes on to say: "If you allow this to stand unchallenged, you are signalling that you accept bullying, disrespect and contempt."
He emphasized that the union would prefer a return to the negotiating table instead of arbitration, though the company has refused.
Copyright 2012 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited
