EVAS District 510: Terminated Colleague Case

It’s safe to say most of you know who we are referring to when we make reference to your terminated colleague.  He is actually quite fine with us using his name, but the Aviation world is a small one in Canada and we felt it best not to use his name in print.

 

 

Many of you can thank him for being instrumental in getting Unifor into EVAS as he spoke with many of you and provided you with cards to sign.

 

 

Throughout our discussions and interviews it was very clear that he had the respect of his co-workers and was a very good pilot.  It became apparent early on that there was clearly something more at play.  As many of you are aware he was terminated for lodging a safety concern.  More alarming was that this was the directive given to him by EVAS.  He paid the ultimate price for bringing in a union and standing up for safety, and that is absolutely unacceptable.

 

 

We were optimistic that the company would see the merits of bringing him back to work, but unfortunately they have been very unprofessional in dealing with this issue.  As such, we filed charges against EVAS at the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).  A mediation hearing was convened in Halifax on September 8, 2015.  The company was adamant that they would not allow him back into the company, and we discussed the merits of a settlement.  We made a very modest offer of settlement, which triggered laughter from the company.  We questioned them on what was funny on their side of the table, to which they responded they were never going to pay that amount.

 

 

They did end up making a settlement offer, but it was a fraction of the request.  They then proceeded to leave the meeting unannounced, which certainly triggered a negative reaction from the CIRB and Unifor.

 

 

As a result of EVAS’s poor choices, Unifor will now commence multiple costly litigation procedures, which may certainly draw much unwanted attention to EVAS; however this is ultimately their choice.

 

 

The lesson here is a simple one: Unifor was voted in to stick up for pilot’s rights and we will spend whatever money and time it takes to make that happen at EVAS.  In time, EVAS will hopefully learn the simple lesson that it is far easier to work with Unifor than against it.  This has been our experience at Air Canada and Jazz; for the most part they work with us to solve our differences and the pilots at EVAS deserve that same respect.