Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt, came under fire Thursday after she again stepped in to prevent a labour disruption at Air Canada over the busy March break by referring its dispute with the unions representing its pilots and machinists to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
"Given our fragile economy, we've said before, a work stoppage is unacceptable," she told reporters in Ottawa.
Raitt said she would ask the CIRB to determine whether an airline such as Air Canada could be considered an essential service. She has used similar means in the past to head off a work stoppage at the Port of Montreal, at Marine Atlantic and at Air Canada last October to avoid a strike by flight attendants.
"The Canadian labour code is very clear that while the CIRB is considering the matter of what level of services an air carrier may have to provide in the case of health and safety matters, they cannot affect a work stoppage. So it applies to both a lockout and a strike," Raitt said.
Her decision effectively puts all strike action and lockouts on hold; no work stoppage can go forward while the disputes are being reviewed by the board.
"At this point in time, we're on the side of the Canadian public interest," Raitt said. "We want to make sure that if there's a work stoppage, the health and safety of Canadians has been considered by a third party to ensure that the cessation of services at Air Canada is something that's not going to hurt them individually."
Raitt encouraged both unions and the airline to continue talks between now and Monday — when Air Canada had planned to lock out its pilots — to negotiate a collective agreement.
"The best deal they're going to get is the one they do themselves," she said.
Earlier Thursday, Air Canada served notice that it would lock out its 3,000 pilots Monday, the same day another union — which represents thousands of ground crew and mechanics at the airline — is set to strike.
"We need to bring closure to the ongoing climate of labour uncertainty at Air Canada which is affecting our customers, destabilizing the company and our operations, and damaging the Air Canada brand," Duncan Dee, Air Canada chief operating officer, said in a statement about the decision to lock out its pilots.
A deadline passed Thursday at noon for what the airline had called its "best, last and final offer" to the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) — without a deal being reached.
The airline made its most recent offer Wednesday, which was less than a month after Raitt offered both sides a new mediator and a six-month process to help them settle contract negotiations — a gesture that was welcomed by the airline and union at the time.
Raitt expressed her disappointment that Air Canada and the unions have been unable to come to an agreement, and with the timing of the strike threats.
"Our government is concerned the work stoppages are going to have an effect on the Canadian travelling public. We all know that it's March break," she said.
She would not directly answer questions about the likelihood of back-to-work legislation if a work stoppage remains a possibility following the CIRB review.
Talks broke off late Tuesday between the airline and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents 8,600 Air Canada ground crew and mechanics.
The union had rejected a new labour agreement two weeks ago, but returned to the bargaining table this week. According to the union, talks broke off after the airline balked at a list of demands from the union.
Both the pilots' lockout and the strike action from the ground crew and mechanics were set to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday.
The ACPA president said Thursday that it was "the minister's prerogative" to send the matters to the CIRB, but expressed concerns in how the process has played out.
"Air Canada needs to behave like the private-sector corporation it is and stop running to the government every time it has a problem, which as you can see, is often," Capt. Paul Strachan said in a conference call Thursday.
He said, however, that any concerns by people expected to travel over the popular March break period should not worry too much about being grounded due the process that lies ahead for the disputes.
"I think this process will take longer than March break," he said. "I don't think we'll see a completion before that, so I would say to the travelling public to travel in confidence.
"We've never wanted a work stoppage . . . and haven't called for any industrial action of any kind. We've always wanted a bargained settlement."
Strachan also said the union would be "looking at all options going forward," when asked about any legal response to Air Canada possibly being considering essential for health and safety.
George Smith, an industrial relations professor at Queen's University said he thought both Air Canada and IAMAW were being opportunistic by threatening a work stoppage during the busy March break. Smith, a former chief negotiator for Air Canada, said there is little risk for either side because Raitt has shown in the past that she will prevent a work stoppage, meaning the company will not suffer much economically and the union might be able to get a better deal through arbitration.
In June, she tabled back-to-work to put an end to a three-day strike at Air Canada by its sales and service agents. The parties ultimately decided to put their outstanding pension issues out for arbitration. The dispute last October with its flight attendants was also put out for arbitration after Raitt referred the matter to the CIRB, which eventually saw a previously rejected tentative agreement forced upon the employees.
Smith said Ottawa should not be making up public policy as it goes along, and a debate was needed to determine what level of intervention was acceptable and what form that should take.
"The feds are players as opposed to overseers in this process," he said. "This whole thing is a continued perversion of the normal collective bargaining process."
Opposition parties were swift in their criticism of the move by the Conservative government.
NDP MP Yvon Godin reacted angrily to Raitt's decision to use the labour board to effectively eliminate the ability of unions to strike.
"She is trying to find anything she could have in her hands to just go and beat the workers," Godin said. "It is not the job of the government to get involved in negotiations at that point."
Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said the government has made a "farce" of collective bargaining in Canada with its constant interference in labour negotiations.
"The problem is we haven't had an even hand in terms of encouraging people to get to the bargaining table early and doing everything they can to get to an agreement," Rae said, adding that he suspects Air Canada and the government worked in concert to avert the strikes.
"In my opinion, it's improbable the company would have done this without consulting the government. It's clearly an effort on the part of the company to force the hand of the government, and even of the House of Commons."
Meanwhile, Air Canada's largest domestic competitor, WestJet, quickly moved to address any possible flight disruptions as a result of the Air Canada situations by announcing intentions to schedule additional flights to deal with potential backlogs.
"We recognize the travelling public is subject to uncertainty arising from the potential travel disruptions at Air Canada," Bob Cummings, WestJet's executive vice-president of sales and marketing, said in a statement. "With more than 60,000 seats departing each day, we are letting the public know that (we) are ready to welcome more guests on board."
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